Many people liked the recipe that I wrote last week and I was asked by several friends also to put one of our main recipes. And this is how I decided today to explain how you cook dal, lentils, in a very delicious Indian way.
It is actually not very difficult. If you want to cook one cup of dal, you need three cups of water. We like to cook Toor Dal. First of all we wash the lentils. Then we warm a spoon of ghee in a pot and, when it is hot, you can put the lentils into the pot and roast them until they are slightly pinkish.
Ramona always says that they get more brown and never get pink no matter how long you cook it but you can say that if they change colour, then it is the right point of time to put the water in. Anyway you should take care by stirring that nothing starts burn at the bottom.
At this point you can add curcuma and salt. You need half a teaspoon of curcuma and one and a half teaspoons of salt for each cup of dal that you are making. As soon as the water is boiling, you can put the heat lower. And then you let it boil for at least half an hour, until the lentils are nicely cooked. In the meantime you can prepare the tomatoes. For one cup of lentils you can use two big or three medium size tomatoes and chop them into small pieces. After that you need to heat another spoon of ghee in a pan. And the following spices have to come into it:
1 ½ teaspoons cumin, garam masala and coriander, a tip of a knife of nutmeg and mace, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (or more if you like it), ½ teaspoon ginger powder and some curry leaves.
For making the food more spicy you can add fresh ginger in very small pieces. Altogether you fry the spices a little bit but take good care not to burn them! Before that you add the tomatoes and cook them until they look like puree. When the tomatoes are ready and the lentils are so soft that they are mixing with the water, you can add the tomatoes into the dal. There you go, a wonderful basic dish which should not be missing in any Indian dinner. You can add some lemon juice, that gives another nice note to it!
Hope you enjoy cooking!
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I’m thrilled to discover that you have a list of recipes. I have heard wonderful things about your food, both the nutritional value and the taste.
This Dal is really tasty. It’s light and energizing. Good food that works with your body instead of against it.
I love this recipe. More please!
Is there anyway for you to post a link to a photo of they type of curry leaves you guys use in your Dal. “Curry leaves” can mean a lot of different things where I live.
This is so delicious. Is all the food in India this good? It would be worth a plane ticket…Thanks!
This sounds delicious. I am eating lots of Dal these days and look forward to cooking it when I get home. Thanks for the recipe.
I am fascinated by all the different varieties of Dal. At first, I thought I was eating the same thing every meal. But I have paid more attention and I’ve noticed the subtle differences in spices, textures, and ingredients. No meal would be complete without it!