Red Lentil Tadka Dal

I make a lot of dal. Some are good. Some are great. Some are not great. When I run out of freshly-made garam masala and decide to use the contents of an unmarked bag in my spice containers that may or may not at some point have been garam masala, my dal generally tends toward the latter. Even after doing everything else right in this recipe, my dish tasted metallic and bitter. For once it’s my fault, not Gordon Ramsay’s. Not that it’s been his and not mine in the past, but neither do I often make his recipes. So it’s a rare occasion either way. This way it just sounds like I’m generally a better cook than I actually am.

But, as I said, it was my fault, not the recipe’s. And honestly, the dish was still okay. I came nowhere near throwing it out. A good few feet from the garbage, in fact. The dal was still nutritious and went down smooth, especially with a sweet little gluten-free bun on the side. Extreme comfort food. I wish I had more. (Note: I made a sambhar tonight and inhaled three servings that consisted of almost an entire eggplant, zucchini, 3/4 cup cooked lentils and – thank goodness – lots of digestion-aiding spices. I think I need to learn to stop sooner so that there will be more to enjoy the next day. Much like the 3 boxes of mangoes I bought yesterday and could still feel fermenting in my belly this morning. Not all three boxes, mind you, but certainly more than enough).

Adapted from My Darling Lemon Thyme

Red Lentil Tadka Dal

• 375g red lentils (measure it. It should be about 2 cups. If you end up with under-flavoured dal it’s because you’ll need a bit more salt – and other, less add-able spices in the late stages of the recipe – for the larger quantity of lentils)
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (make your own. Use my search bar function. Google also has a search bar, but mine is better. Wasn’t I supposed to learn something about hubris in this post? Oops…)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 4 medium tomatoes, peel and diced (place tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds, or until their skin breaks. Then remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon – or any spoon – and plunge into – or run under – ice cold water and peel away the skins. Then dice, keeping the juices)
• 3/4 tsp salt (this recipe’s downfall was in not specifying the amount of salt, because stingy people like me will just shake a bit in and hope it’s enough without testing it. TEST IT! Then don’t be afraid to add more. Lentils are bland. Canned food sodium contents will kill you, not pink Himalayan sea salt or a generous sprinkle of the table variety)
• small handful basil leaves to garnish (or cilantro)

 

Directions:

Rinse the lentils, drain and place in a medium saucepan. Add the water, turmeric, coriander, garam masala and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, partially uncovered, until the lentils are mush.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Add a little water a tbsp at a time if your pan is stubborn and wants to burn. Then add the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more, stirring constantly. Add cumin and chilli flakes. Stir for 1 minute. Then add the diced tomatoes, salt and pepper, and cook 6 minutes.

Pour the contents of the pot into the cooked red lentils (or the lentils into the tomato pot) and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes. If the dal is too thick add a little extra water and if it’s too thin just cook it a few minutes longer to boil off some excess liquid. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Serve hot with steamed basmati rice. Garnish with something green, such as basil, parsley, or more traditional cilantro.