My Go-To Dal Recipe

Dal, Daal Dhal has been feeding mouths and souls since around 303 BC and I am deeply thankful for those involved in creating variations of dal’s across India - THANK YOU!

This is my go-to recipe I make at home which I particular love when the weather begins to cool down - thats when i go heavy with the ginger and chillies.

Method

Wash lentils and split peas until water is clear. Add to a deep pan, cover with water (roughly double the amount). Add salt and turmeric and cook until completely soft and smooth. This takes around 15 mins in a digital pressure cooker or up to 1 hour on the stove.

To a pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds - they should sizzle. Then add onions, garlic, ginger, green chilli. Add spices next followed by tomatoes and cook down for a few minutes until soft. Then mix in cooked split peas and lentil. Add more water if needed to loosen lentils to get a looser consistency perfect for scooping with roti.

Serve with chilli oil, coriander and fresh squeeze lemon.

Ingredients

1/2 cup split peas

1/4 cup red lentils

1 thumb ginger, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

2 cloves (crushed in pestle)

1 red onion, diced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric + 1 tsp for lentils

1/4 tsp chilli

1 tsp fenugreek leaves (methi) grounded

a few curry leaves crushed

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Tempering

1 tsp vegan butter or olive oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp chilli powder