Dal is a comfort food and traditionally it is made in every household in India. There are many ways of making it, here is my mother’s recipe.

Video for reference:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup- Red Lentils (Masoor)
• 4-6 Cloves of Garlic
• 7-10 Curry Leaves (Optional)
• 1-2 Green Chillies
• 1 inch- Crushed Ginger
• 1/2 cup- Finely Chopped Coriander (Optional)
• 1 Diced Tomato
• 1 pinch of Asafetida (Hing)
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon Mustard Seeds (Optional)
• 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 1-2 Tablespoons Ghee
• Salt to taste

Most of these ingredients are available in Indian supermarkets. Some people are thrown off by Coriander so they can substitute it with Mint, Parsley or Spinach.

Method Part 1:

1. Wash 1/2 cup of Red lentils like you would wash rice until the water runs clear.
2. Put the lentils in a large sauce pan add tomato, ginger, garlic, green chillies, three quarters of the coriander and turmeric to it. Leave some coriander for garnish.
3. Add one cup of water to the pan and gently mix the ingredients. Bring the water to a boil and then lower the heat to the lowest setting on your stove. Let it simmer for around 15 minutes. Keep it covered in order to keep the moisture and heat trapped.
4. Once the time is up check the mix for doneness. The lentil should be easy to mush with your fingers. If it isn’t mushy give 5 more minutes.
5. Once this part is done keep the pan to the side for a moment. At this point the dal needs to be tempered.

Tempering Method:

1. In another saucepan put 1-2 tablespoons of ghee. Tempering is the method of blooming spices using fat. You can use ghee or any other edible oil available.
2. We have to keep the pan at a low heat so as to not burn the spices. Gently bring up the temperature of the ghee and then add the Mustard seeds.
3. Once the seeds start popping add the cumin seeds and the pinch of asafetida or Hing. Hing has a strong umami like flavour so use it sparingly if it is your first time trying it. These spices bloom in seconds if the ghee is at the right temperature.
4. The next step is to add curry leaves to the ghee. Curry leaves have high water content and will cause the hot ghee/oil to splatter. So use a long handled ladle to drop it into the ghee. This step is optional because it is not beginner friendly. However, the aroma of fried curry leaves in ghee is something one must experience at least once in their lifetime. They bring a rich flavour to the Dal as well.
5. These steps will take mere seconds and you can gauge the bloom by the aroma. As soon as the curry leaves are fried take the pan off the heat and pour the tempered seasoning into the dal mix we prepared earlier.

Method Part 2:

1. Mix the tempered seasoning and place the pot on medium high heat. Bring the dal to a simmer and reduce the thickness to your desired consistency. Add a splash of water if it is too thick and let it simmer if the water is too much.
2. At this point add salt to taste. Add little bit and taste as you mix to get it perfect for your palate. Once ready add the coriander we kept earlier for garnish.

Dal is best served with rice. We recommend trying it with Basmati, Jasmine, Arborio and Japgokbap.