Ingredients

How to make it

  • Place lentils, tomato (if using fresh tomato) and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils are tender and have lost their shape, about 40 minutes (begin checking that there is still water in the pot at 30 minutes and add small batches of water as needed).
  • Pick out any tomato skins and whisk dal to emulsify it. Keep warm over low heat.
  • Make the tadka (Indian spice preparation) as follows:
  • Heat oil in a medium skillet over high heat.
  • When oil begins to smoke, add cumin seeds.
  • After seeds have stopped sputtering, add the garlic and onion and saute over medium heat until most of the onion has turned dark brown, 5-10 minutes.
  • Add the coriander, turmeric, and cayenne, stir, and pour the onion/spice mixture over the dal.
  • Add the butter/margarine, tomato (if using canned), (cilantro/parsley), and salt to the dal and simmer for another 5 minutes.
  • Serve hot.
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Reviews & Comments 7

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  • dbwright22 12 years ago
    I realize the post was from 3 years ago, but regarding the yellow split peas, are you sure it wasn't chana dal? It sounds like it since it took hours to cook. Indians use pressure cookers to make their chana dal. Just soak 1 part chana dal to 2 parts water for about 15 minutes. Then strain and put chana dal in the pressure cooker with 2 parts fresh water. Cook for 2 whistles (about 20 minutes!). I hope this helps. I'm going to try this recipe tonight except add mustard seed and asafoetidil.
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    " It was excellent "
    alauranoelle ate it and said...
    This dish was amazing! So delicious and flavorful that I will be making larges batches in the future for lots of leftovers!!
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    " It was good "
    wetchman ate it and said...
    Just made this tonight - absolutely great. I did include the cilantro and 1T lemon juice. Thank you!
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    " It was excellent "
    jadejohnston ate it and said...
    I love this dhal.... its now my standard recipie
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  • wait4lily 14 years ago
    Sooooooo good! The best Dal recipe I have tried yet! I made this for my niece to take to school for a report on India (-the cayenne) and it was scrumptious!
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    " It was just okay "
    mamabear455 ate it and said...
    Never tried making dal before. This was very easy, flavorful and definitely a keeper.
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  • michios 14 years ago
    I made the recipe exactly as described, only cooked the tadka for much longer, about 5 min. for the spices, and it came out absolutely wonderful!! Luckily I have leftovers for tomorrow :)
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  • scrumptious 16 years ago
    UPDATE: I made the recipe exactly as described in the book, using yellow split peas, soaking them for an hour, and following the cooking instructions given in the original recipe. The split peas took HOURS to cook, and were not as tasty when finally finished. So I will be sticking with my red-lentil modification! Just wanted to let you know, for anyone who has or is thinking of getting the cookbook.
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