Dal

(Serves 2-3)

Image: Dal

• Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup red lentils (they turn yellow when cooked)
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 inch ginger
  • ~1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 large tomatoes (~1 cup when cut into pieces)
  • Chili or pepper to taste
  • Oil for frying
  • For tadka (optional):
    • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
    • 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
    • 1 garlic clove
    • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• Instructions
  • Boil the lentils like rice, but with three times as much water as lentils (by volume) (Image)
  • Cut the onion, garlic, and ginger into small pieces
  • Mash the garlic and ginger up with a mortar and pestle, if available
  • Fry the onion until light brown, then add the garlic and ginger paste
  • Fry for a bit longer, then add the tomatoes and all spices except for the tadka ones (Image)
  • After everything is cooked well (~20 minutes), mix with the lentils (the lentils should soak up all the water; if not, figure out what you're going to do...)
  • For the (optional) tadka, heat oil very hot in a pot with a lid, then tilt the pot so the oil collects on one side, add the tadka spices (cut the garlic clove beforehand), quickly close the lid, and wait until the seeds stop sputtering. The sputtered seeds and oil can then be mixed together with the rest of the dal.
  • Serve with rice or chapati or whatever.