PANTRY + PREPERATIONS

Legumes:
Mung Dal, hulled and split  (little yellow beans)
Masor Dal, hulled and split  (little red lentils)
Urad Dal, hulled and split   (little white beans)
Whole Mung (small round beans with green outer skin)
Optional: Mung Dal, unhulled and split (little yellow beans with green skin) and Toor Dal (flat yellow peas)

Spices:
1st tier – Turmeric powder, Cumin Seed, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Quality Salt, Black Pepper
2nd tier – Black Mustard Seeds, Curry Leaves, Cloves, Black Cardamom Pods, Fennel Seed, Whole Red Chili, Red Chili Powder, Shredded Coconut
3rd tier –  Black Cumin Seeds, Ginger Powder, Cinnamon Stick, Ajwain seeds, Dry Fenugreek Leaves, Fenugreek Seeds, Mango Powder, Green Cardamom Pods
(Note: the ordering of the spices into these ‘tiers’ can be very personal but this is how I’ve found it to work best for me in my cooking.)

Fresh spices:
Ginger and Cilantro

Oil:
Ghee (highly valued in Ayurvedic cooking)
Olive Oil (NOT extra virgin)
Safflower Oil or Vegetable Oil

Additional:
Nutritional Yeast
Creamed Coconut (different than coconut oil)

Preparing the dal:
Rinse the dal under running water in a colander or sieve.  Remove any small stones or pebbles:)  It’s rare but found on occasion…
The general proportions of dal to water for cooking is 4:1. If I am only making 1/2 cup of dal I’ll use 2 cups of water. There are some methods that call for more or less water, like, in soups or a ‘dry’ dal (a dal which is cooked in the steam from a lesser amount of water), but here the method will be 4:1 unless indicated

Preparing the rice:
I use almost exclusively white basmati rice.  Brown rice is heating and more difficult to digest.
The rice can be rinsed like the dal. Alternatively, wash the rice in a bowl using several changes of water. This way you can see the starch leaving the rice. A great way to prep rice is to rinse it and then let it soak in a bowl with what is to be its cooking water. For one cup of rice, use two cups of warm water. Let the rice soak in the warm water for about 30 mins. Drain the rice, reserving the water. When it comes time to cook, bring the reserved water to a boil and then add the rice. This preserves many nutrients in the starch which would otherwise be lost.
The basic proportions of water to rice when cooking basmati rice is about 2:1, or sometimes just under two.