Tarka Dal

Photo: flickr user rovingI

Ingredients

cup Red split lentils

3 cups Water

1 teaspoon Level salt

1 small Onion chopped

3 Cloves garlic finely chopped

4 teaspoons Melted ghee

Pinch turmeric

teaspoon Garam masala

1 small Tomato

2 teaspoons Chopped coriander

Preparation

Check the lentils for stones and wash them in several changes of water or until the water starts to run clear.

Put the lentils into a saucepan with the water and salt and bring to the boil.

Turn the heat down and simmer uncoverd for 20 minutes skimming off the froth that collects at the top. Now partly cover the pan.

Cook for a total of an hour stirring now and again. At the end of the hour you should have a pale yellow soup like mixture.

While the dal is cooking fry the onion and garlic in the ghee until the onions are pale brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic as this will add a bad flavour to the dish.

Add the turmeric and garam masala to the onions and cook for a few more seconds.

Stir the onion mixture into the cooked lentils. Serve hot sprinkled with chopped tomato and green coriander.

This dish can also be used as an ingredient in chicken Dhansak. Make a chicken curry using the basic sauce recipe I posted the other day but using less of the curry sauce. Also put a Tablespoon or two of lemon juice in with the sauce when you are making the dish. In case you are wondering what ghee is, it is clarified butter. If you cannot get it you can make it. Here is how I do it.

Melt a pack of unsalted butter in a pan and then drain through a coffee filter. Discard all of the sludge that is left and leave the rest to cool. You should be left with a clear golden liquid that sets hard. Ghee is used in indian cooking because it has a much higher burn temperature than normal butter.