Dhal Tadka

For cooking lentils

1 cup or (200 grams) tuvar dal (arhar dal, tur dal or split pigeon pea lentils) or ½ cup tuvar dal + ½ cup masoor dal (split red lentils)

1 to 2 green chilies or serrano peppers – chopped or slit lengthwise

½ cup onions – chopped

1 cup tomatoes – finely chopped

1 teaspoon ginger – finely chopped

½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)

½ teaspoon Garam Masala

1 pinch asafoetida (hing), optional

2.5 cups water – for pressure cooking

1 tablespoon light cream or low fat cream, optional

2 tablespoons coriander leaves – chopped, (cilantro)

salt as required

For tempering or tadka

3 tablespoon oil or 3 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

5 to 6 garlic cloves – finely chopped, small to medium-sized

2 to 3 dry red chilies – broken and seeds removed

1 generous pinch of asafoetida (hing), optional

1 teaspoon kasuri methi – crushed, (dry fenugreek leaves), optional

½ teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder or cayenne pepper or paprika

For garnish

1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves – chopped (cilantro)

For dhungar method

1 small piece of natural charcoal

¼ teaspoon oil or ghee (clarified butter)

Cook lentils

• Thoroughly rinse tuvar dal (tur dal) in water. Add them to a 3-litre stovetop pressure cooker.

  You can also cook the lentils in a pot. Soak the lentils for an hour or two before you cook them in a pot adding water as needed.

  If cooking in a pot, you could add about 3 to 3.5 cups of water.

• Add the chopped onions, finely chopped tomatoes, chopped green chillies and finely chopped ginger.

• Pour 2.5 cups of water into the pressure cooker.

• Add turmeric powder and asafoetida (hing). Mix well.

• Pressure cook the lentils on medium to medium-high heat for about 7 to 8 whistles (about 8 to 10 minutes), or until the lentils become soft and creamy.

• Let the pressure drop naturally in the cooker and then only open the lid. Check the lentils to see if they have cooked thoroughly and softened.

• Mash the cooked lentils with a wired whisk or with a spoon and set aside.

• If the consistency looks thick, add about ½ to 1 cup water (depending on the thickness) to get a medium consistency. Mix again and on a low to medium-low heat simmer dal for 3 to 4 minutes.

• Once the desired consistency is reached, add the light cream or low-fat cream (optional), garam masala powder, chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) and salt to taste. Turn off the the heat.

• Mix well so that everything combines to an even consistency. Taste and adjust salt before adding tadka.

Smoke lentils using dhungar method (optional)

• To get the smoky flavor of burnt charcoal like you would in a restaurant, you'll want to follow the dhungar method.

  Using tongs, place a small piece of charcoal on a grill pan like shown in the photo below. Burn the charcoal until it becomes red hot.

  Please be sure to use natural charcoal for this method, avoiding anything that has a flame accelerant added.

  Note that this is an optional step – you can proceed directly to the tempering method.

• Place the red hot charcoal in a small steel bowl. You can also use a halved hollow onion instead of the bowl.

• Pour about ¼ teaspoon of oil or ghee on the charcoal. You will see fumes emanating as soon as you pour oil or ghee on the hot charcoal.

• Place this bowl on the dal.

• Cover the cooker or pot with a lid and let the dal get infused. Only smoke for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not keep for a long time, or you'll risk making the dal taste bitter.

  Remove the bowl carefully with the help of tongs and cover the cooker with a lid. Set aside.

Make the tempering (tadka or chaunk)

• Next, heat oil or ghee (clarified butter) in a small pan over low or medium-low heat.

• First, add the cumin seeds and crackle them. The cumin should get fried and not be raw, but be careful not burn them.

• Next add the dry red chilies, asafoetida, and finely chopped garlic. Let the garlic brown lightly and the red chilies change color. Do not burn the garlic.

• Lastly, add the crushed kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and kashmiri red chili powder or cayenne pepper. Mix well and turn off the stove.

Make Dal Tadka

• Pour entire tempering mixture along with the oil or ghee into the prepared dal.

• You can either mix the dal with tempering, or serve the dal tadka with the tempering on top of it.

• Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve Dal Tadka hot with steamed basmati rice or jeera rice (cumin rice).

• You can also enjoy the dal with roti or paratha.