serves
4
prep
5 minutes
cook
45 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
5
minutes
cooking
45
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Stream free On Demand
Quick Comfort Foods
Watch the full episode here
G
Watch the full episode here
G
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentils (mansoor dal)
- 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- Pinch of asafoetida powder (optional)
- 1 tsp salt, plus extra to season
- 1 L water
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ cup roughly chopped coriander
- Your favourite Indian pickles or chutneys, to serve
- Rice or Indian breads, to serve
For the tadka
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (or mustard oil or ghee)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 6 curry leaves (optional)
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 dried red chillies
- ½ tsp mild Kashmiri or Korean chilli powder
- Pinch of asafoetida powder (optional)
Soaking time: 1 hour
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils a few times with cold water and then soak for 1 hour in plenty of cold water, then drain. If you don’t have time to soak the lentils, you can skip this step and just cook them for longer in step 2.
- Combine the soaked, drained lentils, tomato, onion, ginger, turmeric, asafoetida (if using) and salt in a large saucepan. Pour over 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are creamy. Add an extra 15 minutes cook-time you have not soaked the lentils. Stir through the garam masala and coriander, then remove from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- To make the tadka, heat the oil in a small saucepan and add the cumin seeds and curry leaves (if using) and fry until the cumin seeds start to brown. Add the remaining ingredients and stir for a minute until the garlic is just starting to brown. Pour the tadka over the dahl. Serve with pickles, chutneys, rice or bread.
Photography by Jiwon Kim.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Stream free On Demand
Quick Comfort Foods
