Seasoned Dhal Recipes

DAL (INDIAN LENTIL CURRY)

Steps:

• Soak Lentils: Rinse lentils and leave to soak in plenty of water for 1 hour. Drain in colander.
• Heat ghee/oil in a heavy based saucepan over high heat. Add green chillies and fry for a minute until starting to blister.
• Add onions and fry until softened.
• Lower heat to medium, add garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Cook for 1 minute until garlic starts to turn golden and smells amazing.
• Add tomatoes and cumin, cook until tomatoes start to break down and thicken to a paste - about 2 minutes.
• Add lentils, water, tumeric and salt. Stir, bring to simmer, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour. Stir two or three times during the hour.
• Remove lid and simmer gently for 30 minutes to thicken, stirring every now and then. The dal is ready when it has a consistency like porridge - some lentils should be intact but some have broken down to thicken the sauce.
• Stir through garam masala at the end. Adjust salt if desired.
• Pour over Tadka, if using, and stir through.
• Serve Dal over rice, garnished with a sprig of coriander if desired.

SEASONED DHAL (_MASALA DHAL_)

Steps:

• Bring lentils and 3 cups water to a boil with turmeric in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gently simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until falling apart, about 20 minutes.
• When lentils are cooked, heat oil in a small heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and red pepper flakes until mustard seeds begin to pop and/or turn gray and cumin seeds brown, about 1 minute. Stir spice mixture into lentils with coconut milk, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt and bring to a simmer.

SEASONED DHAL

Steps:

• In a large bowl wash the dhal in several changes of water; drain. Place the dhal and 2 1/2 cups water in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes (45 minutes for yellow split peas), or until the water is absorbed and the peas break up under pressure from the back of a sppon. Check to make sure it doesn't boil over.
• When the dhal has finished cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the mustard seeds to the oil and heat until they pop. When the popping subsides, toss in the dried red chili and curry leaves. After a few seconds, add the onion and fry until light brown. Put in the garlic and fry 1 minute. Next, add the ground masala and fry for another minute. Stir this mixture into the dhal, along with 1/2 cup water and the salt. Partially cover and continue simmering another 10 minutes, adding more water if the mixture is too thick. It should be the consistency of thick pea soup. Remove from the heat.
• Stir in the lemon juice and ghee. Taste for salt.

CHANA DAL, NEW DELHI-STYLE

Steps:

• Combine the chana dal, turmeric, cardamom, bay leaf, salt and 4 cups water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently, cover partly and cook for 40 minutes. At that point, the mixture should still be quite moist; if it is not, add 1 cup additional water and continue cooking, covered, until the dal is tender, about 20 minutes; turn off the heat. Remove the bay leaf. Use an Indian mathani (see related article) to purée the dal for about 1 minute; the dal should be saucy but not soupy.
• To make the tadka, put the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cloves; let sizzle for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until medium brown. Stir in the chili flakes if you're using them, and turn off the heat.
• Pour the tadka into the dal; stir gently to combine. Garnish with cilantro and serve.