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Dal Tadka.md

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Dal Tadka

Ok, this one you've probably eaten -- a lot. Nutritional powerhouse that scales basically without bound, and pretty easy to make once you have the ingredients. You can easily omit some of the spices, at a flavor depth tradeoff.

ingredients

for the dal

  • 1 cup Masoor Dal (plain ol' red lentils)
  • 3-5 cups water
  • 2-3 bay leaves
  • ~inch of ginger sliced (see note)
  • generous ~pinch turmeric
  • (optional) a couple cloves, a green cardamom pod, an allspice berry, etc

(scales up linearly)

for the tempering

  • 2 tsp ghee
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced (see note)
  • equal volume of ginger, grated/minced
  • 1 tsp cumin seed
  • 1 tsp cilantro stems, chopped
  • 3/4 tsp mustard seed (black preferred)
  • 1/2 tsp coriander seed powder
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder (to taste)
  • (optional) 1/4 cup diced tomatoes (canned or do it yourself!)
  • (optional) 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • (optional) "sprig" (some) curry leaves
  • 1-2 small red chiles (dry) or 1 serrano, deseeded and cut
  • some hing/asafoetida or 1 more garlic clove (minced)

garnish

  • cilantro leaves, chopped
  • greek yogurt, kefir, curd, etc

method

  • Wash dal. Soak in 3x volume of water for a few hours if you have time, it will make the next step smoother (wash again after soaking).
  • Put all dal ingredients into a pot, bring to a boil, then cook at a low simmer until lentils are thoroughly broken apart, stirring occasionally. WATCH OUT FOR FOAMY BOILOVER!
    • ALTERNATIVELY[1]: cook everything in a slow cooker for at least 4 hours, maybe overnight (at least overnight in the case of Pirates' extra-slow cooker). You're trading time for depth of flavor and silky texture
    • ALTERNATIVELY[2]: cook everything in a pressure cooker "according to manufacturer instructions". You're cheating nature, but we forgive you
  • While the dal is cooking, prep the tempering ingredients, but don't start cooking it yet. This is a good time to roast some whole coriander seeds and break them up in a mortar/food processor/sacrificial coffee grinder. If you're feeling ambitious, make some garam masala!
  • Salt the dal to taste once it's done (~1 tsp) and turn off the heat
  • Heat up ghee in a skillet that will fit all tempering ingredients (medium heat). Add mustard and cumin seed and cook until the mustard starts to pop like popcorn
  • Add onion and cook until it's softened and translucent, but not browned. I like to add some coarse salt to help draw out the water here.
  • Add garlic/hing, ginger, and cilantro stems, and sautee until garlic is soft but not browned
  • Add coriander powder, chiles, and chili powder, sautee another minute until everything looks incorporated
  • (optional) Add diced tomatoes, if using, and cook on low heat until tomatoes have melted (~5 mins), then add the garam masala
  • You are ready to TEMPER now! Pour the tempering over the dal, give it a gentle stir, and serve with cilantro leaves and curd of some kind (yogurt, kefir, etc)

notes

  • To get nice finely minced garlic without masochistic effort, I've adopted the following technique from Phil: take a large, fairly sharp knife. Set up a cutting board that can take a beating near the edge of your working surface. Place the clove (unpeeled) on its flattest side and cover with the centroid of the knife blade, taking care to firmly hold the handle so your fingers won't get caught under it (i.e. handle off the bench). Give that spot a powerful thwack, like you mean it. Don't cut off your fingers. Some garlic bits may go flying, but you should end up with quite pulverized garlic flesh and loose skins you can easily pick off. Repeat with the other cloves, push the mush together, then give it a good chop with a rocking motion.
  • I highly recommend noting down how much dal you used because it will swell a lot and you won't remember the original volume. Don't be lazy with the washing, put it into a pot and swirl it around in water with your hands, like you're washing rice.
  • "Tempering", to my understanding, broadly refers to the practice of pouring a mixture of aromatics briefly cooked in oil or ghee over a dish just before serving. The tempering mix could be as simple as some mustard/cumin seed cooked till they pop, or more elaborate, as in this recipe.
  • Some Dal Tadka recipes suggest cooking onions with the dal, instead of in the tempering. This will make them nice and soft, but won't develop the flavors as much. I also feel like it breaks up the neat grouping of water/fat cooked ingredients, but don't let ontology stop you from cooking things the way you like.
  • The ginger in the dal needs to have a high surface area to fully infuse, but you also want kinda-large pieces that can easily be fished out. Usually this means cutting into coins, but when cooking a larger amount you can cut lengthwise, into easily managed strips, instead.
  • To make this vegan-compatible I prepare the dal as normal, then separate the tempering ingredients proportionally and cook the vegan portion in coconut oil instead of ghee. Cook the tempering for the smaller portion (whichever that may be) in a saucepan that can fit the final volume (i.e. tempering + dal), and the one for the larger portion in a pan (usually the cast iron) that just fits the tempering. Pour out the dal for the small portion onto the tempering, then pour the larger tempering onto the rest of the dal. This saves you some pan management headaches.
  • If you only have ground spices (we didn't have whole cardamom, for example) you can just sprinkle them in near the end of the tempering process instead. You really want whole cumin/mustard seed, though.