Bilal Cooks Daal

Bilal is biking outside with his friends, when his father steps out of the house. “Bilal, it’s time to begin cooking dinner,” says Abu. Bilal’s friends ask why they would need to start cooking so early.

“This dish takes patience,” Abu says. “This dish takes time.” “It’s the best meal of all,” says Bilal. “It’s…”

“Daal!”

“What’s daal like? Is it salty?”

“Does it taste really good?”

“Daal is nutty and creamy and warm like soup. There are all different kinds.

Come see, you can help us pick which one!

They take off their shoes. They wash their hands. Bilal grabs his favorite stool.

They study the colors.

“Yellow”, Elias says, “because yellow is sunflowers, rubber ducks, and the sun.”

“And chana daal is my favorite!” Bilal says.

When Abu scoops out a cup of the bright yellow daal, it clatters into the bowl. They’re small like pebbles, but shaped like pancakes. And they slip through Bilal’s fingers like sand!

They line up the spices. Bilal breathes in the scent of turmeric, chili, cumin. Morgan sprinkles salt. Elias tries to help. Bilal combines the spices. Abu pulls out a pot, the biggest they have.

“It looks funny.” Morgan frowns.
“It smells funny,” whispers Elias.
“Do you think it will taste okay?”

And suddenly Bilal is a little, tiny bit worried that maybe, just maybe, his friends won’t like daal at all.

“Is it ready?” asks Elias.
“Can we taste” asks Morgan.
“No,” Abu explains. “Daal takes time. We have to wait. The flavors mix together slowly. You kids go play and have fun while it cooks!”

They run outside to play hopscotch. Elias numbers the sidewalk to twenty. “Let’s make it longer, to one hundred,” he says. “It’ll definitly be done by then.”

So they hop, skip, and jump to the end. Caleb and Emma join too. “Let’s check if its ready. Let’s go take a bite.”

“Not yet,” Bilal tells them. “Daal takes time. We have to wait.” They put on swimsuits, slip down the slide, and cannonball into Morgan’s pool. Elias floats. Morgan dives. Some more neighborhood kids join them, and they all play Marco Polo.

“Is the daal done?” asks Morgan.
“It’s got to be ready by now.”

Bilal squints at the sun- it’s not high in the sky. “Almost!” he tells them. “Daal takes time. We have to wait.”

They hike through the forest and skip pebbles in the stream. The sun starts to set. As they watch the fireflies grow, they hear Abu call out, “Bilal, it’s almost time!”

They march up the cobblestone steps. They knock on the yellow door. And as loud as they can, the ask: IS IT DONE?”

“Come see.” Abu smiles and opens the door wider. The kids rush inside.