Back in 2000, when I was about to embark into my life as a married woman, I sat both my Amma and Appa down and took down all my favourite recipes that they made. Over the years, I added notes to those recipes when a few years later, I sat Anand’s Amma down and wrote down the nuances of the Thanjavur region that further enriched my knowledge. It was fascinating to see how much cuisine changes every few kilometers in India, even if one is from the same basic cultural background.

One recipe I missed to ask Amma about was her “mor moong dal”. As a mother of five, with two elderly grandmothers to take care of as well, there were some recipes both Amma and Appa overused for sheer convenience of how quick they were. Some of them I can reuse for the rest of my life and I would never be bored. Appa’s cheese toast and tomato omelette have been a lifesaver this past year, when cooking for just one person seems the most boring task in the world.

Last week one of my sisters vaguely recalled that our Amma made something putting boiled whole mung (moong) beans and watered-down yoghurt together. Almost instantly I remembered the name of the recipe. In typical style of someone trying to blend two very different cultures once she landed in Bombay, Amma had named this particular dish “Mor” (watered-down yoghurt in Tamil), “Moong” (mung beans in Hindi) “Dal”.

I must admit I had an absolute moment of panic when my sister posed the question. Amma’s advanced Parkinsons takes her memories from her and her from us as each day goes by. She is no longer in a position to fill our memory gaps by using hers.

I needn’t have worried. Almost like an 80s movie playing in my head I could see Amma in her 40s, bustling about the kitchen and whipping this together in a matter of minutes.

I smiled and began rattling off the recipe, and our elder sisters confirmed I had it right!

Here’s to Amma, and everyone out there who is pressed for time and wants a quick fix. There is one prep required though. The moong beans need to be soaked in water for a few hours and then pressure cooked.

When ready to cook and eat in 10 minutes, have some finely chopped ginger, green chillies and curry leaves ready to go into the tempering. Also keep a bowl of well-whipped yoghurt with some water added ready to go.

Once that is done, take a little oil or ghee in a vessel meant to make dal. Add some mustard seeds and once the nutty fragrance is followed by the seeds spluttering as they split and lend their flavor to the ghee, add some cumin seeds. Quickly follow that with the chopped ginger, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds and add the boiled moong beans. To that, add the yoghurt and some salt.

Stir continuously for a couple of minute more and take off the heat before the yoghurt curdles and separates from the rest of the mixture. The continuous stirring prevents this from happening.

Enjoy with some basmati rice and next to dal and rice, it will be the next go-to comfort food on your list.

Being pressed for time right now, with barely any focus on myself as a human being with nutritional needs, as I finish cooking this amazing lunch for myself, I pause for a few seconds and let the fragrance take me back to our home, to the kitchen where Amma puts this together for dinner, managing a lovely wholesome meal with minimum prep and even lesser cooking time. I see the sheer exhaustion in her eyes and the relief of having recipes such as this up her sleeve to feed her large family.

As all of us gather to help ourselves to this, I recall how I would delight in the way this particular dal flowed on my plate. The moong being heavier than the much lighter warm yoghurt around it would sit prettily on top of the rice like glowing green jewels. The rice below would just absorb the warm yoghurt and together, it was an absolute delight to the senses.

Today, I am grateful for recipes like this that have the power to simply transport us back to some of the most beautiful memories we don’t even know we have. They just pop out of the recesses of our mind, ready to offer comfort, love and nourishment – all in one delicious spoonful.