I made this dal recently and it came out very much like the soup that is sold by Indian 'takeaways' under the heading of "Tarka Dal". I only came across this dal in a song would you believe! The song was a comedy song by a band called "Mark and Lard" who I believe were or still are DJ's on Radio 1. Somewhere in the song there was a line that talked about eating curries and said "chicken tikka, tarka dal, popodom, masala" etc., which made me wonder what "tarka dal" was. So next time we went for an Indian takeaway I ordered Tarka dal, even though it wasn't on their menu. Since then I've had it in different places and it is all pretty much similar. Serves-easily 4-6 people
Also see Tarka Dal 2.
Ingredients
| • | 6 cups Yellow lentils (tur/arhar dal or chana dal) |
| • | 4 tsp. olive oil |
| • | 1 tsp. turmeric powder |
| • | 1 tsp. sweet paprika powder (Shimla mirch powder/capsicum powder) |
| • | 1 tsp. cumin powder |
| • | 1 tsp. coriander powder |
| • | 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. - chilli powder to taste, but not too much, as this is a refreshing soup and shouldn't be too hot. |
| • | 2 vegetable stock cubes |
| • | 2 cloves of garlic |
| • | 2 medium (white) onions |
| • | A handful of fresh coriander leaves, stalks included |
| • | Salt and pepper to taste |
Instructions
| 1. | Wash the lentil and gently simmer for about 1/2 an hour |
| 2. | Take the lentils out, drain and put aside |
| 3. | Clean the pan, heat it and add oil. Fry the chopped onions and garlic for about 10 minutes, stirring often. |
| 4. | Add the spices and crumbled stock cubes. Cook on for a few minutes. Take off the heat. |
| 5. | Add the lentils back to the pan and purée the lot using a hand blender/stick. |
| 6. | Top up with water and simmer for about an hour to let it cook through and thicken. |
| 7. | Serve hot with Chapatties and Boiled Rice. |
| 8. | Also see Dal Selection. |
Notes
| • | Tastes pretty good! |
Buy ingredients from a recommended supplier, Spices of India. For more information, see here.
To print this recipe, open our printer-friendly version in a new browser window. Once you have printed the recipe, close the new window to return to this page.
If you have any comments or questions about this recipe, please post them to our Discussion Board, including the recipe name.
Content copyright ©2001-2005 Mamta Gupta
Layout and design ©2001-2005 F² Limited
All comments and queries to webmaster@mamtaskitchen.com
All rights reserved. No copying without permission
