Dal Tadka
Savor the rich, comforting flavors of Dal Tadka, a spiced lentil delight perfect for any meal.
Ingredients
- 300 g toor dal or masoor dal
- 1.5 l water
- 2 onions
- 3 tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 25 g ginger
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 dried red chillies
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 1 bunch coriander leaves
How to make it
- Rinse the dal well until the water runs clearer. Put it in a pot with the water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 to 35 minutes until the lentils are soft and partly broken down.
- While the dal cooks, finely chop the onions, tomatoes, garlic and ginger. Pick the coriander leaves from the stems and roughly chop the leaves.
- Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a second pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook them slowly for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft and pale gold.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then add the tomatoes and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until they collapse into a thick, pulpy masala.
- Stir in the cumin seeds, turmeric and dried red chillies and fry for 30 seconds in the ghee so the spices darken slightly and smell fragrant.
- Pour the tomato-spice mixture into the cooked dal and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until the dal turns thick and creamy but still shows soft lentil grains.
- Heat the remaining 2 tbsp ghee in a small pan, then pour the hot ghee-spice mixture over the dal and stir in the coriander leaves.
- Serve the dal in a wide shallow bowl with the tempered ghee streaked over the surface and a scattering of green coriander leaves on top.
