Author Notes
Punjabi Dal is a thick, wholesome version of the ever-popular lentil curry that is bursting with flavour. Popular in the North of India, this is best with a dollop of ghee and scooped into roti parcels with your fingers. On my holidays in Delhi as a child, the rotis would be laced with white butter, which we kids would promptly smear all over our mouths as lip-gloss! In case you’re wondering, I don’t roll out the rotis on battle ravaged days - I’ll always have a pack of ready-made ones in the freezer for those meals. The original recipe was an inspiration from Monica of the Spice Club (http://spicediary.com/2013/10/13/urad-chana-dal-masala-spicy-punjabi-dal/). My version here uses a batch of home made tomato curry sauce as a shortcut. This dal is lovely mopped up with flatbreads. Roti liberally rubbed with butter is best. —Mallika
Ingredients
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half cup
Split urad lentils
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half cup
Channa lentils (Split Bengal Gram)
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half cup
Tomato Curry Sauce (recipe https://food52.com/recipes...)
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1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds
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1 pinch
Asafoetida
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1 teaspoon
Garam Masala
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1 handful
Chopped Fresh Coriander
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3 tablespoons
Oil or Ghee
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1 dash
Salt, to taste
Directions
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Wash the lentils well in a sieve with cold running tap until the water runs clear.
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Then bring to boil with twice as much cold water, and bubble on medium high for at least 30 minutes until the mixture resembles a thick soup. You’ll have to keep adding water to prevent the mixture from drying up too much and burning.
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Just remember to add half a cup of hot water at a time only. I always keep a boiled kettle ready when I make dal.
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Check for salt at this stage, and add it to your liking. Then make the tadka. Bring the ghee to heat on medium in a small saucepan.
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When it’s hot, add the pinch of hing and the cumin seeds, and as they sizzle up stir the tadka into the dal.
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Ladle into a bowl, sprinkling the garam masala and fresh coriander (if using) on top to serve.
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