Indian style tarka Dal

I was wondering what to serve with my baked chicken recipe and thought why not make something like an Indian style dal.  I looked up a few dhal dishes and let's say this is my take of an Indian style dal.

It went nicely with my baked chicken, along with a nice leafy salad and plain cooked rice. It is also great with some roti canai or naans. 

Unlike the local dal curry, in this recipe, I used Red lentils or raiy mugu. The lentils are cooked and once cooked a Tarka is added into the dal and cooked. 

This  Tarka is a mixture of stir-fried onions and tomatoes along with some spices. No coconut milk  is used as once the dal cooks it becomes quite a thick mushy mixture.  

Yield: 4-6

Author: Nammi

Tarka dal

prep time: 10 mins cook time: 30 mins total time: 40 mins

ingredients:

• 1 cup red lentils (raiy Mugu, or use yellow if you don't have)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 3-4 dried red chillies, cut into 3
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 inch ginger, grated
• hand ful of curry leaves, about 8
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
• 2 green chillies, sliced
• salt
• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves (optional)

instructions:

How to cook Tarka dal

1. Wash the lentils and place in a saucepan with about 2 cups of water. a pinch of salt and bring to a boil.  Remove any scum that forms on top . Once its cooked, add turmeric, garlic, and ginger, let it simmer, add a little more water if it looks too dry and stir it occasionally.
2. While the dal is cooking, prepare the Tarka part. Heat a frying pan, add ghee or oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds.  Once the seeds start to pop add onions, stir fry till it starts to go translucent, and starts to colour. Add curry leaves, dried chillies, green chillies, and tomatoes and stir fry till the tomatoes start to soften a little, season with a pinch of salt.
3. Add this mixture into the dal mixture, stir and cook another 2-3 minutes. Taste adjust salt and add some fresh coriander leaves, and a little water if you feel its too thick and then switch off. 

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