India / Main
Dal tadka
A lentil stew finished by pouring sizzling spiced fat over it. That step is the dish.
Ingredients
- Toor dal, rinsed200 g
- Turmeric1/2 tsp
- Ghee3 tbsp
- Cumin seeds1 tsp
- Mustard seeds1/2 tsp
- Garlic, thinly sliced4 cloves
- Onion1
- Tomato2
- Dried red chillies2
- Asafoetida1 pinch
- Saltto taste
Quantities are auto-calculated from the original recipe as a guide. Items without numbers (e.g. “to taste”) are not changed.
Method 6 steps
Cover the lentils with three cups of water, add the turmeric and simmer covered for thirty minutes, until the grains collapse into a soft mass.
Mash some of the lentils against the side of the pot and season. The consistency should be that of a thick soup.
Separately fry the onion until golden, add the tomatoes and cook until they break down into a sauce. Stir that into the lentils.
Heat the ghee in a small pan until it is just short of smoking. Add the mustard seeds; they should crackle within seconds.
Add the cumin at once, the garlic and chillies ten seconds later, the asafoetida twenty seconds after that. The whole thing takes under a minute and cannot be left alone.
Pour the sizzling tadka straight into the lentils — it should hiss. Stir once and serve with rice or flatbread.
