Dal

0.50 Cups of Massoor Dal (Red)
0.50 Cups of Arhar Dal (yellow but not chana dal)
2 tsp. of Oil
2 medium red onions finely chopped.
3 Tomatoes skinned and mashed
7 Cloves of garlic
2 tsp of Panchphoran
1 Bayleaf
1 tsp. of Turmeric
1 tsp of salt
2 Tbsp of lime juice
2 Tbsp of chopped Dhania for garnish.

Tarka
1 Finely chopped green chilli
1 small Onion finely chopped
1 Tbsp of butter

Method

1. Place the dal lentils in a metal sieve. Rinse well with cold water. Pressure cook the dal for 6 minutes in three cups of water.

2. In a separate pan heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions. Cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic paste and cook for 1 minute more, stirring continuously, making sure that the garlic does not burn. Add the Panchphoran. Cook and stir for another 2-3 minutes. Add bay leaf and turmeric. Stir.

3. Add the cooked lentils along with the lentil cooking water. Add salt. Cook for 10 minutes on a low heat stirring from time to time. Add lime juice and tomatoes. Cook for 3-5 more minutes. Adjust salt if necessary. Stir in chopped dhania and remove from heat. Garnish with more chopped cilantro and the tarka if used.

Tarka is a seasoning that is often added to dal to give a nice flavor. In this case adding this tarka will make this dal into a popular dish eaten at roadside restaurants around India – dal fry! Fry the onion and finely chopped chilli in the butter before adding to the dal.

The panchphoran is a mixture of unground spice seeds that can be used in many Indian recipes, it is often put in the oil to flavor the oil. This is traditionally a Bengali recipe. The recipe is below to enable you to make a supply of panchphoran.

Panchphoran.

4 Tsp. of Cumin Seeds. (Jeera)
4 Tsp. of Black Mustard Seeds. (Sarson)
4 Tsp. of whole Fennel seeds. (Saunf pronounced sonf)
2 Tsp. of Nigella seeds. (Kalonji)
1.5 Tsp. of whole Fenugreek seeds. (Methi)

To make about:
15.5 Teaspoons of Panchphoran.

method.

Mix together and store in an airtight jar.

You can look these spices up on google, they all have health benefits. In brackets I have put the Indian name in case you need to get them from your local Indian shop. If you find it hard to get the Nigella seeds ask at an Indian restaurant, they may give you a few spoonfuls. They are the tiny black seeds used on Naan bread and would be easily available from them.