Dal tadka

Dal tadka is a classic dish that originated from the Northern part of India. Dal means lentils and tadka means to temper or fry spices in oil. Tempering has the amazing ability to transform any lentil dish to something magical and flavourful. There are so many variations for this recipe out there, but the main ingredients required to make dal tadka are not extensive, and if you are looking to start off with an easy first time dal dish, I would recommend trying dal tadka. This recipe serves 4. 

Ingredients

For the dal

3/4 cup yellow spilt pea lentils 

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp turmeric 

1/2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 green chilli, finely chopped 

1 tomato, finely diced

1 onion, finely diced

Pinch asafoetida

Salt to taste 

For the tadka

Vegetable oil 

1 tsp mustard seeds

Handful curry leaves 

2-4 dried red chillies, broken

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds 

Method

• Add all the ingredients for the dal into a pressure cooker. Seal on the lid, turn on the flame to medium and cook for 7-8 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally and add around 1 cup water to thin out the dal. Also add salt to taste. Mix well and set aside whilst you make the tadka. 
  
  
  
• In a small frying pan, add around 2 tbsp vegetable oil. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle. Next, add the cumin seeds and let them crackle. 
  
  
  
• Add the garlic and fry until lightly golden. 
  
  
  
• Finally, add the dried chillies and curry leaves and let them splutter for a minute. 
  
  
  
• Pour the tadka into the dal and mix well. 
  
  
  
• Serve the dal tadka with rotis or brown rice.
  

If you don't have a pressure cooker, add 1 part yellow lentils to 4 parts water in large saucepan along with all the other ingredients for the dal. Cook on a low-medium heat until soft and mash with the back of a spoon. Add water to make it thinner if required!