Basic Dal
If you are cutting back on meat in your diet, you might want to start adding lentils to your repertoire of everyday meals. Studies have shown that this superfood prevents heart disease, diabetes and a number of cancers. Many vegetarians rely on this humble little pulse for their protein source, as well as for their vitamins, fiber and other vital nutrients.
They are the star ingredient in dal, a staple dish in India, where there are more vegetarians than the rest of the world combined. Lentils are cooked in a spicy gravy. The longer you cook it, the thicker or “dryer” it gets. The combination of spices is endless, and every region in India has its special “masala,” or custom blend of spices
I played with this dish for years before creating this recipe. Certain small lentils don’t need to be soaked, but doing so for about two hours can speed things up. Whatever you do, don’t add salt until they are fully cooked, or they can stay hard.
Whole spices work best for any curry. Some are roasted whole while others are ground and added in later. Basically, the larger the spice, the earlier it goes in. If you don’t want to deal with all these spices, just add 2 tablespoons of curry powder in with the onions.
Dal goes great with rice, chapatis, dosas, onion bhajis…what would you eat with your curried dal?
Notes
If you soak the lentils for 2 hours before making this, they will cook faster. Plus, if you don't want to use all these spices, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of curry powder for all of them.
Ingredients
- 2 inch piece of cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 green cardamoms
- 1 dried red chili
- 1/4 teaspoon asafoedita
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoons dried curry leaves
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 small green chilies, chopped
- 1-1/2 cups pureed tomatoes
- 7 cups water
- 1-1/2 cups lentils (moong, masoor, channa, toor, etc.)
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat about two tablespoons of oil in a large pot.
- Add in first six ingredients and roast slightly.
- Next add in curry leaves, cumin, coriander, fenugreek seeds and tumeric. Roast another minute.
- Add ginger, garlic and chilies. Follow this with the pureed tomatoes and simmer five minutes.
- Add water and lentils. Bring to a simmer for 1-1/2 hours. Add more water if necessary.
- Finish curry off with the cilantro, salt and pepper.