Dal fry

“Good food, very often, is simple food.”

 One of the joys of Indian cuisine is that food can be s simple and yet sumptuous beyond senses. Take this dal fry for example. Just a bowl of this over a bed rice on a weekend, pairing the food classic with any great desi movie classic and you are in for a treat. And the best part is that this is such an easy-going recipe that you can whip it up for any time of the day, without breaking a sweat. Although it might be needed to get up after binging on this staple dish of India.

RECIPE

Feeds a family of 4 or more.

INGREDIENTS

• 200gms of tur dal, or yellow split pea lentils
• 4 cups of water
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
• ½ teaspoon hing, or asafetida
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 1-2 medium dried red chillies
• 1-2 green chillies, sliced
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon oil or ghee
• 1 tablespoon coriander, finely chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoon kasuri methi, or dried fenugreek leaves

METHOD

1. In a pressure cooker, add the dal or lentils and the water, along with 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook till tender.
2. In a pan, add the ghee, red chillies, mustard, cumin, fenugreek, and fennel seeds. Fry on medium heat till they pop. Then add in the hing, ginger, garlic, and curry leaves. Fry for another minute till fragrant.
3. Then add the tomatoes, along with all the spice powder, salt, sugar, and half of kasuri methi. Fry till the tomatoes are soft and leaving oil on the sides. This should take about 5-10 mins.
4. Once the lentils are cooked, add them to the simmering tomato base and stir. Add water to adjust the consistency as per your liking.
5. Cook for a further 10 mins and finish with kasuri methi and coriander on the top.
6. Serve hot with rotis or steamed rice.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

1. You can add 1 medium onion to the base for added flavor.
2. For a quick version, you can just add cumin seeds, ginger-garlic paste and all the ground powders with the lentils.
3. For a Jain version, just leave out the garlic.