Showing posts with label tarka dal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tarka dal. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Spicy Urad Dal

This spicy urad dal is made with split and skinned black lentils, seasoned with many spices including cumin, ginger, coriander, onion and dried chili peppers. 

Food Lust People Love: This spicy urad dal is made with split and skinned black lentils, seasoned with many spices including cumin, ginger, coriander, onion and dried chili peppers.

I was racking my brain to come up with a recipe ingredient that starts with the letter U for this edition of the Alphabet Challenge when all that thinking sparked a memory. Once upon a time I had eaten at an Indian restaurant in Dubai and was served dal makhani. It was a beautiful dark color, rich and flavorful and unlike any dal I had enjoyed before. 

My only experience prior had been with dals that were yellow! I offer this recipe as evidence: My Tarka Dal or Curried Lentils.


Of course, when I got home, I did a little google search to discover that dal makhani is made with whole black lentils or urad dal. Further investigation revealed that urad dal can be purchased whole - with the black skins still intact, split – with skins intact but with the inside exposed, and "white" – with skins removed. 

Now I had my ingredient name for U, but where to buy some? Had I been back in Houston where Indian supermarkets abound, no problem. But in Jersey, we aren’t so fortunate. Amazon to the rescue again.

I ordered white urad dal as well as some asafoetida which is recommended when cooking legumes of any sort, including lentils, as it is meant to meant to help with digestion and, ahem, gas. 

Spicy Urad Dal

Despite the urad dal I bought being skinned and split, every recipe I found assured me that I could not skip the soaking step. So I did not and you shouldn’t either! Soaking the dal not only reduces the cooking time but also makes the dal more easily digestible. Even with soaking, this did not break down to a mush like other lentils. We really liked the texture.

Ingredients 
To cook the dal:
1 cup or 220g white urad dal (split and skinned black lentils)
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Small knob ginger, peeled and grated

For the tempering aka tarka: 
3 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon asafoetida (also known as hing)
¼ teaspoon kalongi
2-3 dry red chili peppers
½ medium onion, chopped
5-6 curry leaves
1 teaspoon cayenne

To serve:
1 tablespoon lime juice
chopped cilantro 


Method
Rinse the dal well with water until it runs almost clear. This takes a few times. 


Soak it in 4 cups or 960ml water for 30 minutes.


Drain the water and add the dal to a large pot. Pour in 26 oz or 750ml water. Bring to the boil, and use a slotted spoon to remove the scum that rises to the surface. 


Add in the turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and grated ginger. 


Stir to combine and turn the stove to simmer. 


Put on the lid, but leave it partially ajar, to prevent the pot from boiling over. Simmer for about 30 minutes, checking it every so often to give it a stir. Add a little more water if necessary so the lentils don’t dry out.

When the lentils are cooked, we make the tarka. Heat the ghee in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once the ghee is hot, add the asafoetida, cumin seeds and kalongi and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.


Add the dry red chili peppers and chopped onions and cook until the onions turn golden brown, stirring frequently.


Quickly stir in the curry leaves and cayenne.


Immediately add the tarka to the cooked dal.


Stir then add the lime juice.


Garnish the dal with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice, naan or chapati. 

Food Lust People Love: This spicy urad dal is made with split and skinned black lentils, seasoned with many spices including cumin, ginger, coriander, onion and dried chili peppers.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 21th edition of the 2024 Alphabet Challenge, brought to you by the letter U. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the U recipes below:



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Sunday, April 7, 2013

Tarka Dal or Curry Lentils

This tarka dal (or curry lentils) is a warm bowl of spicy comfort that is cheap but satisfyingly delicious.


Today Sunday Supper’s theme is budget dishes. In other words, delicious recipes that won’t break the bank. I considered giving you a recipe for my old college standby of tuna casserole with cream cheese (which sometimes didn’t even have tuna if the month was longer than my money) but I settled on something really tasty that we love to eat, even when money isn’t an issue. And that is when you know it’s good!

When we lived in Malaysia, we picked up the habit of eating dal and roti canai for breakfast since the school canteen served a tasty bowl and the little shop not far from our house was great on weekends. But there were many times when I would make my own dal long before that. From the time I got my first Madhur Jaffery cookbook and spice box, in fact, circa 1996-97, this recipe for spicy yellow lentils, cooked down until they become a sauce, has been a favorite. You can thin them with more water and call them soup. Or you can leave them thick and scoop them up with flatbread or serve over rice.

The original recipe doesn’t include potatoes or carrots or green beans, but coffee shops in Malaysia often add them so I do too. The vegetables make this spicy dish even more of a meal. And, best of all, dal is a great, cheap source of easily digestible protein and nutrients. Perfect for this week’s Sunday Supper! You can even make your own naan to go with. It’s easy!

Oh, and a quick word on the title: Dal means split so any split pea or bean is dal but it is also the name of the cooked dish. Tarka refers to the spices that are fried in a little oil and added at the end to season the dish. For more information on lentil varieties, have a look here. And for lentil nutrition, this is a good link.

Ingredients
1 cup or 225g moong dal or split mung beans
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium potato
1 medium carrot
Good handful green beans
1/3 teaspoon asafoetida (optional but good – I couldn’t find any!)
1 teaspoon whole cumin
1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
2 small red chilies plus more for garnish, if desired
Good handful curry leaves (optional but good)
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
Salt to taste

Method
Wash the lentils well in a big bowl of water, making sure that there aren’t any stones or hard bits of mud, and then drain and tip into a large pan. 


Pour in 26 oz or 750ml water. Bring to the boil, and use a slotted spoon to remove the grey-white scum that rises to the surface. As you can see, I missed this step so I skimmed after adding the turmeric. It's all good in the end.


Stir in the turmeric, and turn the stove to simmer. 
 

Skim scum now if you forgot to. 
Put on the lid, but leave it partially ajar, to prevent the pot from boiling over. Check it every once in a while and give it a stir. Add a little more water if necessary. My simmer is hotter than it should be so I did add some water part the way through to make sure the lentils didn’t go dry.



Meanwhile, cut the ends off of your green beans and then cut them into smaller lengths. Peel and chop your carrot and potato.



After about 20 minutes of lentil cooking time, add in the vegetables. Keep simmering for about another 20 minutes, as which point your lentils and vegetables will both be cooked.


If you want to use a couple of red chilies for garnish, slice them finely holding the stem end with a sharp knife and pop them in a glass of ice water. Ideally, they should curl, if you have cut the strands thin enough. Set aside till needed. 



Now on to the tarka for seasoning.

Slice your onion and your garlic very finely. 
 

Heat the oil and add the asafetida (if using), cumin, mustard seeds, whole chilies and curry leaves. And stir! 


When the mustard seeds start popping, which happens quite quickly, add the sliced onion and cook until golden.


Add in the garlic and stir quickly. You don’t want the garlic to burn because it turns bitter. 


Pour the mixture into the dal and give the whole thing a good stir. Add salt to taste and pop the lid on. 
 


Enjoy! As mentioned above, you can serve this over rice or with a flatbread. It is delicious, comforting and affordable!


Adapted from Tarka Dal from Madhur Jaffery



Have a look at all the wonderful budget dishes the #SundaySupper group have for you this week! We are going to eat well and cheaply for the next few weeks on these recipes! Our hosts this week are Lane from Supper for a Steal and Pam from Blueberries and Blessings. Thanks for hosting, ladies!

Starters, Soups, and Salads
Main
Sides
Drinks and Desserts

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