Pigeon Pea Paste (Aka Arhar Dal or Toovar Dal)

Entered for ZWT. This is a staple of South Indian cuisine, found in Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian", used as a launching pad for other recipes. This recipe describes the basic preparation of these round, dull yellow peas with an earthy, dark flavor in their hulled and split forms. The plants in the northern part of India produce Arhar Dal; in the southern part of India: Toovar Dal. Every day a different stew is made with these. If using "oily toovar", wash it very thoroughly before cooking to remove the castor oil coating. Note that dried peas double in size after cooking. This paste will last 1 week tightly covered in the refrigerator; in Indian households, it is used everyday. If the next recipe requires draining of the peas, save the cooking liquid for soup. Preparation time is soaking time. Cooking time is estimated total time once in pressure cooker to come up to pressure and cook, but does not include natural release time.