Anu's Lentil Curry (Daal)
Personal Notes and Ingredients
This dish is a standard staple daal from India. It's a combination of many recipes (online and offline) and this is the way I like best and the one that reminds me most of home.
For 4 portions
3 Onions
4 cloves of garlic
inch piece of ginger
3-4 tomatoes
Red split lentils (you can also mix yellow lentils in here)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
pinch of asafoetidaTo flavour the oil
1-2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds (optional)
Method
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Wash the lentils (3 times) in cold water until the water starts to clear up a bit
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Boil the lentils in water with 1/2 tsp of turmeric and a pinch of asafoetida (3:1 water-lentil ratio) you can adjust the thickness to your liking later
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This needs to boil for 15-20 minutes
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While this happens, chop onions finely
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Heat a pan with oil and once hot, add mustard and cumin seeds allowing them to splutter. Stir them to prevent burning. 30 seconds-1 minute
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Add chopped onions and fry on a medium flame for 10 minutes allowing the onions to brown slightly
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Finely chop or crush ginger and garlic in a mortar & pestle
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Add to the mix once onions are browned
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Fry until the raw smell goes, approx 2 minutes
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Add chopped tomatoes
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Add some salt and chilli powder, cumin and coriander powders now
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Stir regularly but not too much
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After about 5-8 minutes some of the tomatoes will be melting and some not (this is exactly what we want)
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Add the boiled daal to the pan (and not the other way around, since we want the flavours)
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Simmer for 5 minutes or more if you want to boil of water for a thicker consistency
Garnish with coriander leaves if desired and enjoy with fresh basmati rice or roti!