Aarti Paarti #3 Recipe: My mum’s Basic Dal (lentils)
Posted by Aarti on February 24th, 2009 . Filed under: dal, lentils .As promised, here is the written recipe to accompany the latest episode of Aarti Paarti!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzpPfr1qY_U[/youtube]
This is probably the first Indian thing I ever made. It’s your basic dal recipe, and I bet every mother makes it a little differently. When made well, it is so satisfying that you really don’t need to eat anything else, even though it’s nothing more than lentils, water and tomatoes. Oh, and the holy trinity of Indian cooking: turmeric, chili powder/paprika and asfoetida (aka hing). I only have one bowl of it left after we demolished it for dinner last night, and you best believe that I will fight Bren, dodge all his Krav Maga offenses, in order to eat it myself!
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My mum’s basic Dal
(For those of you checking this recipe out because of the Next Food Network Star, the version I made on the show used red lentils only. It won’t make a big difference either way. I’d encourage you though to invest in some black mustard seeds. Once you try them, you’ll be hooked, just like me!)
1/2 cup masoor dal (red lentils)
1/2 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas)
(alternatively, just use 1 cup of either one)
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2″ piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 serrano chile, sliced in two (optional)
2 cups water
BAGAAR:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp (generous) turmeric powder
1/2 tsp paprika (or bafaat powder if you have it)
1/4 tsp asfoetida (hing)
1/2 sprig curry leaves
2 extra cloves garlic, whole, with papery wrapping still attached
Handful chopped fresh cilantro
1) Sort lentils, picking out pebbles and shmutz. Wash under running water, and then cover with water and soak for 30 minutes.
2) In a 3qt saucepan, combine water, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and drained dal over a medium-high flame. Cover and bring to a boil. Skim any scum that has built up. DO NOT ADD SALT YET. It will toughen the lentils, thereby elongating their cooking time. Turn heat down until dal mixture is gently simmering, cover and cook 30-40 minutes until lentils are tender, almost translucent and almost falling apart.
3) Whisk the dal, releasing its natural starch and mashing some of the more delicate pieces so it thickens the soup. Add salt. I use about 1 tsp of kosher salt.
4) In a small skillet, over a medium-high flame, warm 1 tbsp vegetable oil. In a small bowl, combine cumin and mustard seeds. In another bowl, combine spice powders. Have all the ingredients ready to go because this will move very fast!
5) Once oil is shimmering, add garlic. Allow the outsides to toast a little, turning a light brown, then throw in seeds and immediately cover so you don’t get covered in spluttering oil and seeds!
6) Once the spluttering dies down a little, grab the curry leaves and chuck ‘em in. Again, immediately cover the skillet until the spluttering dies down. It should smell like heaven in your kitchen right now!
7) Finally, add the spices. They should sizzle and bubble a little — that’s the blooming and it’s exactly what you want. Don’t let them burn however. Let them bloom for about 30 seconds, no more.
Pour the oil mixture into the dal, standing back so you don’t get hurt when the mixture splutters again. Stir all the oil, seeds, spices and garlic into the dal. Finish with a handful of chopped fresh cilantro and serve!
-x-
aarti
February 24th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
I LOVE Dal so I will have to try this recipe!!
February 24th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
maria! watch the video, it’ll help when it comes to the last part. let me know how it turns out! whee!
June 4th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I have made this twice in two weeks, so very delicious and comforting. Thank you!
November 4th, 2009 at 5:11 am
Made your dal yesterday. It’s soooo delicious !!!!
Seeing your videos is so much fun and it’s definitely a highlight in the week an I’m always wondering what are you going to do the next time
November 4th, 2009 at 7:32 am
oh! i’m so glad! that dal recipe is just the best.
and thank you so much for watching! you are such an encouragement! i’m about the edit the next episode and i’m totally dragging, but your comment has re-inspired me. thank you!
June 8th, 2010 at 10:08 am
Aarti/anyone who has made this recipe before:
Do you leave the whole garlic in the dal (with skins on)? Would anyone eat this or do you pick it out before you serve?
Can’t wait to try this–dal is my most favorite food ever. Aarti, you rock! I love your show.
June 10th, 2010 at 9:08 am
[...] for the soup recipe that I made on the first episode of the Next Food Network Star, here’s a link to it, and the video I made! It’s a touch more complex than the one I made on the show [...]
June 10th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
This looked so yummy when I saw it on the show! This reminds me of my grandmothers dal. Thanks for the recipe!
June 12th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Hi Aarti,
It was pleasure to watch you on FOOD NETWORK last week.
We are waiting for this sunday’s episode.
You have a wonderful personality. We hope you win.
God bless
June 12th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Hi Aarti,
It wasa pleasure to watch you on FOOD NETWORK last week.
We are waiting for this sunday’s episode.
You have a wonderful personality. We hope you win.
God bless
June 14th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Seeing your dal recipe made me so hungry and my mum too is famous for her dal… so i made it immediately and it was so soo good….. reminds me of the good ol days when we had dal every other day.thanks! love your personality and vivaciousness- keep ‘em coming……
June 14th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
So happy to get this recipe!
I think indeed you are the next foodnetwork star!
Best to you,
dee
June 21st, 2010 at 11:15 am
You are wonderful to watch. Your warm personality does come through and I would love learning how to cook home style Indian food! I am so excited you posted your recipes! I am starting this dish as soon as I get all my Indian spices! Can’t wait! I hope you win and I hope you have come to see what an amazing person you are! Be proud of the gifts God has given you!!! Good luck!
June 28th, 2010 at 7:29 am
Oooooh I can’t wait to try this! What’s the difference between a dal soup and mulligatawny soup? I love mulligatawny at my favoriteIndian place, but once time I tried to make it, and the lentils were so hard, they were inedible. I haven’t tried to cook with lentils since! Any advice?
July 9th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Hi Aarti,
I’ve had lentils in my pantry for a few months now just waiting to get a good recipe for them. As soon as I saw your soup on the show I knew I had to try it. So here I go today, I hope my hubby will be happy when he comes home tonight. We love indian & middle eastern food and hope you win so we can learn to cook more of it!
July 20th, 2010 at 11:23 pm
I just made this yesterday (I doubled the recipe) and am already about halfway through my massive pot of dal. I just can’t stop eating it! Last night I gave myself a huge bowl and thought, “Oh, I’ll never finish that.” And then I ate it in about 5 minutes flat.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
July 24th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Hi Aarti,
First of all, I want to let you know, I’m a big fan of yours. I watch the NFNS on the Canada channel ( a few episodes behind USA) and I’m just loving you more everytime. You are just do adorable and your cooking is amazing. I love your little indian twist.
I just made your dal soup and is just excellent. All the spices that melt in my mouth were just perfect. Continue to inspire me, us!! Can’t wait to see you and your future show, I hope is gonna be showned in Canada (make sure it is please!!!!!!)
Can’t wait to try out your other recipes (maybe next, the samosas!!)
See u!!
January 27th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
[...] My mum’s red lentils with a lime crema Lebanese beef and pine-nut stuffed pitas (Arayes) with a Lebanese garlic sauce Tandoori chicken Black eyed peas pulao Blood orange, fennel, arugula, black olive salad Salted caramel ice cream with fresh asian pears [...]
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:14 pm
[...] for this week: Monday: Leftovers Tuesday: Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Excellent Meatballs Wednesday: Mum’s Everyday Lentils, Trader Joe’s Vegetable Samosas, Naan Thursday: Leftovers Friday: Egg, Ham and Spinach Pizza [...]