The Hindu Business Line : Dal-roti minus the dal?

The ban on export of lentils and pulses has had its repercussions in NRI kitchens and Indian restaurants in the US. But there will be no compromise in the cuisine, even if it means spending more.

The average American enjoys the occasional lentil soup — served in delis or cafeterias — but lentils, or dals, feature on the daily menu of most Indians, resident or non-resident. In America too, most Indian kitchens are well-stocked with myriad dal varieties, supplies of which are replenished by weekend visits to the nearest desi store.

In late June, the Commerce Ministry issued a notification putting a temporary halt in the international trade of pulses and lentils till the end of the year, but later extended it to March 2007. The export ban — which came about after stormy scenes in Parliament — was intended as a stop-gap measure to ease inflation in the domestic market. For now, the Indians abroad have to bear the brunt of the populist move.

Given the vacuum in the supply of this vital commodity, wholesalers in the US are trying to come up with alternative sources for lentils — no mean task.

`Taken aback'

The House of Spices, headquartered in New York, is one of the largest distributors in the American market. Its President, Mr R.L. Soni, says that even those in the industry were taken aback by the sudden ban. Containers that were ready to be shipped out were literally pulled off the docks in some Indian ports.

Some of the dals can be obtained from other countries in Africa or Thailand, but such arrangements will take time. "The prices of lentils — long overdue for a revision — could stabilise in the next two months," according to Mr Soni. Undoubtedly, the ban has created uncertainty in the minds of consumers on the continued availability of essential dals. For the vegetarians, lentils are the main source of protein.

"Though we were under the impression that we would not get dals anymore in the grocery stores, the situation was not so bad" says Surya Desaraju, from Minnesota. "As long as good dal is available, I do not mind paying the increased price, but at this rate, it looks like we may have to stop eating sambar till next year. At least, we will have to restrict our dal preparations to every alternate day."

Panic buying

There has been plenty of panic buying despite the over 100per cent increase in the dal prices. Indian grocery stores across the US — especially in the big cities — have had to ration supplies since the inventory moves quickly.

In California, there are polite notices in desi stores asking customers to limit their lentil buying, so that every family has a fair chance to buy all varieties. Though dal is a staple for all Indian meals, South Indian food is more pulse-heavy than Northern fare. Urad dal, used in making dosas, adais, and uthappams, and toor dal, for the accompanying sambar, are fast disappearing from the shelves in American cities.

"My wife got an early alert from our ex-neighbours," says Balaji Subramaniam of Boston. So, she took a tour of all the nearby stores and stocked up around twenty pounds of the key dals. "We're not sure for how many days we can continue to enjoy this. What used to cost $4.99 has jumped to $20. Also, there is a limit imposed on each buyer," he adds woefully.

Restaurants cope

The Dakshin restaurant, in a Boston suburb, has had to increase the price of the popular weekend buffets by $2, though the a-la-carte menu remains untouched by the hike. The all-you-can-eat brunches have a variety of South Indian dishes. There is also an effort to put innovative dishes such as chili-idli — an Indo-Chinese variation, which uses bell peppers, onions and soy sauce — on the buffet table to economise on the urad dal.

"The sambar will be runny if we try to lower the amount of dal in it, so that is hardly a solution," owner Rajan Viswanathan quips, adding that there will be no compromise on the quality of the authentic dishes served by the restaurant.

"It is going to be difficult for me as a lentil-addict, but still I support the Indian Government's decision," says Indira Singari, who writes the food blog Mahanandi (http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/).

"I am not going to moan and whine about the ban. I have several options to try out from the whole-food stores here — for instance, soy, tofu and wild rice — but for the majority of people in India, lentils are all they have for proteins."

She is optimistic that enterprising wholesalers will make deals with other lentil-exporting nations soon. "I think of this as a chance to explore other cuisines and find vegetarian goodness in them," she says with the true spirit of a die-hard Indian foodie in America.

(The author is a freelance writer based in Boston.)

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