Dal (lentils)A dinner of dal and rice is the humblest of meals...and yet one of the most satisfying. It’s a very nutritious source of protein for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Dal is the perfect accompaniment to a meal of masala fish. Its lightness sets off and balances the richness of the masala fish and masala potatoes. Dal is basically a preparation of soaked, boiled lentils to which you add a swirl of spices that have been fried in hot oil. The many variations arise due to the spices and dals you use, and whether or not you work in things like onion and potatoes. If you make it really watery, you can serve it in a mug, just as you would a soup. The recipe below shows a bit of a “shortcut”, which has you putting many of the ingredients in with the boiling dal to boil instead of fry. If you’re into slow food, then you can choose to fry the ingredients like onion, tomato and coriander, etc., in with the mustard seeds instead, adding them after the seeds have sizzled. It’s up to you. But honestly, for dal it doesn’t make that much of a difference, which is rather weird, because usually it’s sacrilege to boil spices rather than fry them when you’re cooking Indian food. But shortcuts have their limits: the mustard seeds and the curry leaves have to be fried, no matter what! Note: The following recipe is the classic version. I will describe a shortcut at the end. Ingredients in brackets are optional, depending on your mood. Prepare the dal: Wash, in 3-5 rinses of water: ¾ c. Dal (this can be masoor dal, oily toor dal, or your favourite dal combination) You can find these dals (or lentils) at your Indian grocery store, or at the bulk food place. Back in the day, it was very important to pick through the lentils, because it was often the case that the mix was contaminated with many pebbles and stones. This situation is improving. But you still need to rinse them well. Soak the dal, for several hours or overnight...(don’t do as I do...do as I say!...many’s the time I’ve taken the shortcut of boiling the dal a little longer to compensate for lack of soaking! Some dals (e.g. masoor) are more forgiving of this treatment than others (e.g., channa dal)) Put the dal in a standard (4-L) saucepan of water. Add 3-4 cups water. Bring to the boil. As it is heating, add to the pot 1 chopped jalapeno pepper, seeds and all (1-2 potatoes, cut into pieces, added midway through boiling) 1/2 tsp salt Boil until soft, at least 20-30 min. (If you do put potatoes in, add them mid-way through the boiling, because if you boil them too long, they may become mushy). You may wish to decant off a little water before adding to the masala below, depending on how thick you like it. (comment: Recently I bought an Instant Pot. This has made the dal boiling a lot easier, because I cook the dal in the instant pot (using the "pressure cook" setting on high, cooking the dal for 8 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally). If I use the instant pot, I either don't add potatoes, or I do a second round of pressure cooking with potatoes added…just for 3 minutes. Again, remember to let the pressure release naturally before opening up the pressure cooker after the potatoes are cooked. Make your masala: (in this case, it’s actually called a “tarka”...a fried spicy mix that your swirl in with the boiled dal when it’s ready to go) Heat a standard-size (4-L) saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Add enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan. When the oil is shimmering, add: ½ tsp black mustard seeds
A few curry leaves (limblo, we call them)...available at Indian groceries
¼ tsp onion seeds (kalonji) After the seeds have sizzled for a few seconds, add: ½ onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 tsp ginger, chopped
2 tsp garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
½ tsp turmeric (or more, for colour)
1 tsp coriander
½ tsp cumin
When your masala looks and smells satisfactory (cook it on med-high till the masala doesn’t have a sharp smell, and the tomato is nice and soft), lift the potatoes out of the dal with a slotted spoon, and add them to the masala. Before mashing your dal, take a look at it. If you added the whole thing, water and all, to your masala, would it be too watery for your liking? If so, pour off some of the water on top, setting it aside to add back later if need be. Mash the dal a little with a whisk, a masher, or in the food processor. Now stir the mashed dal into the masala. Stir and heat on low for a few minutes to meld the flavours, adding back in some of the dal water if you need to thin it out. Finally, garnish with (Chopped coriander)
(a little lemon juice)
Have a little taste and adjust the salt. I never add enough, because this is such a watery dish.
I once knew a child (not my own, fortunately!) who had a temper tantrum when there was no lemon served with the dal. Although a tantrum is a definite no-no, lemon juice is a great addition to dal!
***shortcut: In the shortcut, you add the onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, salt, turmeric, coriander and cumin directly to the dal water with the jalapeños, instead of frying them with the mustard seeds, etc and oil later on. This makes the frying of the mustard seeds, etc in oil a rather quick procedure. Once the dal is properly cooked, the fried seeds can be stirred into the dal mixture and the dish finished off with the chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice. It tastes a little different, but different can be good sometimes!