In several recipes for Indian chutney , the first ingredient to be fried is a few dried lentils -LRB- dal -RRB- : why are they used for chutney in this way ?
Why do so many recipes over-complicate the preparation ? Do I really need to devote five minutes just on trimming snowpeas -LRB- one of a dozen or more ingredients -RRB- to create a stir-fry for one ?