There are days when all I want to eat is a simple Indian meal with minimal spices. That is when I cook dal tadka, mostly accompanied by rice and a vegetable stir fry. Although I have used toor dal (yellow pigeon pea) in this recipe, it can be replaced with masoor dal (split red lentil), or moong dal (split green gram), or chana dal (split chickpea), or a combination of all of these.
Dal Tadka | Tovve
(serves two)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
1/2 cup toor dal/split yellow pigeon pea*
1/4 tsp haldi/turmeric powder
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp dhania/coriander seeds, crushed
1 tsp ginger, grated
1 tsp garlic, grated
1/2 medium sized tomato, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 red chili, cut into pieces
A pinch of hing/asafoetida
6-8 curry leaves
1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped (optional)
Method
Pressure cook dal with 3 parts water and turmeric powder. Mash the cooked dal with a whisk and set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or kadhai. When hot, add crushed coriander seeds, ginger and garlic and fry until they garlic turns light brown. Add chopped tomatoes, mix well and cover with a lid. Cook until the tomatoes turn mushy. Add cooked dal and salt and mix well. If the dal appears too thick, add some water to obtain desired consistency. Cook for another 10 minutes.
In a small wok, heat 1 tbsp oil for seasoning. Put in the cumin and mustard seeds, when they pop, add in the broken red chili, curry leaves, and asafoetida. Pour the hot seasoning over the prepared dal and mix well.
Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.
*Instead of toor dal (yellow pigeon pea), masoor dal (split red lentil), or moong dal (split green gram), or chana dal (split chickpea), or a combination of all of these can be used.
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