Made this last week and it came out very much like the soup that is done in takeaways under the heading "Tarka Dal" (I only came across this in a song would you believe so next time we went for a takeaway I ordered it, even though it wasn't on the menu. Since then I've had it in different places and its all pretty much similar).

AskCy Method -

6 cups -Yellow lentils

4 tsp - olive oil

1 tsp - Turmeric powder

1 tsp - paprika (sweet)

1 tsp - cumin powder

1 tsp - coriander powder

1/4 to 1/2 tsp - chili powder (to taste, but not to much as this is a refreshing soup)

2 veg stock cubes

2 cloves of garlic

2 medium (white) onions

fresh coriander leaves (about a handfull, stalks included)

Salt and pepper to taste

Gently simmer the split lentils for about 1/2 an hour (change the water a few times to clean it out).

Take the lentils out and drain them (put to onside)

Swill the pan out and dry it.

Add the oil to the pan

Fry the chopped onions and garlic (for about 10 mins stirring to soften)

add the spices/stock cubes and cook on for a few minutes.

take off the heat (for safety)

add the lentils back and use a hand/stick blender to pur?e the lot.

top up with water and simmer for about an hour to let it cook through and thicken.

It surprised me how good lentils can taste with so little effort ...

Hi Steven

This sounds great!

Dals are eaten in almost every Indian vegetarian house, at least once a day. There are so many to choose from and they all can be delicious. Addition of asafoetida and cumin seeds to the tarka helps to reduce the 'unwanted' effects of eating lentils ;-)!

Mamta

To be honest I've not noticed any unwanted affects.. maybe thats down to washing and changing the water several times ?

Well, We do say in India that always wash and soak dals and beans. Soaking before cooking reduces the gas effect! It converts the complex sugars that make gas to a more digestable form.

Mamta

Dear Steven (or Mamta, or anyone),

I get Scottish friends to bring me yellow split peas when they come to France. Are those the same as yellow lentils? I find that they take ages to cook, and the packet often says soak overnight, which I find helps.

Have I got my wires crossed here? Do I have trouble getting them to soften up when cooking because I'm not using the right kind of pulse?

Phil

I would have to go and recheck the packet but I'm sure it said yellow split something... could be peas.. thought it was lentils...~(will check at some point)

Knowing names of all dals and identifying them is not easy. People use so many different names for same dals, often incorrectly. We Indians generally translate the word ?dal? or ?dahl? to lentil, whereas in UK, the word lentil generally means one specific dal, the skinless red lentil or Masoor dal.

Here area few dal names and some sites that have the pictures, not always good picture, but enough to identify them:

Masoor Dal, skinless - Red Lentil. This is the one that is used most in Western cooking as lentil.

Masoor whole, with skin. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/dey/95133422/

Chana Dal ? Split black Gram, also called Bengal gram. Usually used skinless, but also found with skin. Yellow in colour, only slightly different from Tuvar dal and Split Yellow Peas. http://www.mendosa.com/chanadigest.htm

Split Yellow Peas look almost same as Chana Dal or split Black Gram, but taste slightly different. They need less soaking. http://www.fotosearch.com/IGS651/is409-074/

Tuvar/tur/arhar Dal - Pigeon Peas or red gram lentil, split. This comes as oiled or dry version. The dry variety looks a bit like Chana dal, only smaller. Sometimes also called yellow lentil by mistake, for that reason. See http://www.flickr.com/photos/dey/95133177/

Moong Whole-Green Gram is the one that is used for sprouting. http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/category/lentils-and-legumes/mung-beans/

Moong Dal Chilka-Split Green gram with skin. http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/category/lentils-and-legumes/moong-dalsplit/

Moong Dal Dhuli - Green gram, washed, skinless, looks light, but brighter yellow than Skinless Urad dal. Scroll down the page http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/category/lentils-and-legumes/moong-dalwashed/

Urad/urid whole - Black gram. Looks like a blacker version of whole moong. http://www.indojin.com/photo_gallery/pages/uradwhole.htm

Urad/Urid Dal Chilka ? Black gram split, with skin. http://www.indojin.com/photo_gallery/pages/uradsplit.htm

Urad/Urid Dal Dhuli ? Black gram split, without skin, looks very pale yellow. http://www.indojin.com/photo_gallery/pages/whiteurad.htm

There are so many other dals, but these are the main ones I would use. If you are not confused already, go and visit a large Indian-Gujrati supermarket, you will find several more varieties of lentils and beans! I hope this goes some way towards identifying dals!

Mamta

Hi AskCy, just tried this dhal and it is ab fab. Loved by everyone. I made it slightly thicker than a "soup", and had it with rice and chappaties.

thanks.

Liza

I've also found its even better if you roast a head of garlic in the oven and squeeze in 2 or 3 cloves from it..!

just been to check and the packet was "Chana Dal"

Many thanks, Mamta, for all that info.

And thanks too to Steven for checking out Chana Dal. I'm going to write up a file on this, so that I can check it for future reference.

One thing I'm clear on identifying is moong beans, used to make the beansprouts used in Chinese cookery, and which I even found at the very southernmost tip of the Pelopenesian peninsua in Greece a couple of weeks ago.

Phil

I just sorted out the picture of it (taken at my brothers the week before when I made it for a bit of a party)

oops...

Lentil soup

What made it green, or is it just the lighting?

Mamta

its a little bit of camera/lighting... and coriander (fresh leaves/stalks)

I worked for years in an Indian restaurant,

For Tarka Dall i always use the small Red lentils (that are readilly available in western grocers aswell as eastern shops) and split yellow 'peas' (if i cant get split yellow peas: I use skin-less, channa dall, which are just split, dried chick peas. Channa do take longer to cook and should be soaked for at least a couple of hours.)

Then: I take a mixture 4 parts red lentil to 1 part yellow peas. The yellow peas will not disolve to a mush like the reds and so you get a good texture to the dall that goes well with rice.

Boil the lentil mix with the lid off in salted water with a pinch of tumeric (enough to cover them and an inch or two more) till the red lentils turn to mush and the yellow peas are soft. This should take about 30-40 mins but dont let the water evaporate fully.

Now take a good 2 tablespns of butter and a spoon full of veg or sunflower oil and heat to a medium-hot. Fry 2 large cloves of garlic (per cup of red lentils) and half an onion with a pinch of cumin seed and mustard seed and chili powder (if you like it hot), till the garlic starts to brown, the trick for the real restaurant flavour is to get the onions and garlic to brown but not burn- you need them caramelised not charcoaled.

throw theis garlic/onion/butter mix into the pan of boiled lentils add some water if you need to to prevent it sticking and heat through until the lentils get to the consistency of thickish porridge.

Add salt generously to bring out the garlic and a good, big squeeze of lemon juice. Stir through with a handful of chopped corriander leaves and a few torn curry leaves (IF you can get them where you are, an asian shop when they're in season is your only chance.....! ).

Done- serve with rice and rotti/chappati/ or naan

Hello highleyboy

If you are interested, I can add your recipe to this website. This is one dal recipe many people are looking for. Not many people cook it like this at home, so the recipe may be very popular.

Mamta

Caramelised but not burnt: that's the trick.

I tend to undercook onions in Indian cookery, because I want to avoid burning.

I guess you need enough oil to keep the caramelised process on the go.

Phil

Hi Phil

When Indians fry onions for curries/tarkas/pilaf etc., they are almost always done well, almost to the level of caramalissation. Perhaps I have not made it clear in my recipes, because I hadn't thought of the word 'caramalised'! I have tended to write golden brown :(!

Mamta

Hi all, am suffering from a cold (first in ages!) and so this soup looks just what is required for a healthy comforting lunch... think I will stick a pot on the stove now...!!!

...spot on...! I also added some ginger for cold-busting qualities (and I like the warming taste it gives) :-)

Hope your cold is better soon. Ginger tea is also very nice for it. Boil tea water with a little grated ginger in it and then make tea as normal.

Which soup did you make Mrs S? Was it the one from Steve, at the beginning of this thread?

Mamta

yes, that's the one, although a smaller quantity! and added ginger. also some yellow pepper for vitamin C! do feel better, and have managed to do some work even...

Often make ginger tea, if you can call it that, as it just put fresh ginger and lemon juice in water - I'm not a huge normal tea drinker, but love herbal style stuff. I'm also a big fan of fresh mint with cinnamon. yummy!

never realised it was a health potion as well... lol

Steve

Thanks for the recipe, its the best Tarka Dall recipe I can find on the Web !

Thanks.

Glad you liked the recipes, but which one are you refering to ?

Steve

Yours is the only Tarka Dal recipe on this site Steve ;-)!

mamta

LOL but didn't "highboy" post his way further back in this post ?

Steve

Yes, but yours is the only one in recipe section.

Mamta

PAGE 1 of this topic has "which dal is it"

Steve

just a word of caution about channa dal and chickpeas. There are two kinds of chickpeas used in India. One is the chickpea used in Middle Eastern cooking, and is quite large. It is used to make humous, and has a distictive flavour. In India, it is often eaten whole, and referred to as Kabuli channa (or sometimes shortened to Kabli channa) to indicate they originated outside of India (though not necessarily from Afghanistan). It is quite usual to name (in Hindi) produce that originated outside of India, or a particualr region. Other examples include 'chini', meaning China, though again not meaning originating from China, just foreign, for example cassia is known as dal chini, or 'wood from China', and kababachini, for the cubeb pepper. And in Orissa, anything from the 'south' (of India) was called 'Mysore'.

The other channa dal, often called Bengal gram, is also known as desi channa, because it is far easier to grow in India. It is smaller than the Kabuli channa, and has not the same depth of flavour. It is this channa that is ground to make besan flour, often called 'chickpea' flour, though it is not made from the larger chickpea.

As an aside, I have found yellow split peas take a long time to cook and not a good substitute for Bengal gram (just an observation)

hope that helps

Lapis, thanks for the information I'm sure it will have sorted out a few problems. I've always been confused about why "chickpea flour" doesn't have chickpeas in it!

Steve

highleyboy - I downloaded your recipe one year ago and had to come back to thank you, its superb. My only change would be to add less water and take off the heat slightly early so the lentils keep absorbing water and end up with a thicker consistency.

Thanks highleyboy.

must add that the recipe is not for tarka dal, its seems to be a bit vague in its origins. The tarka in the title means a spiced oil/ghee which is added to the dal just before serving. This adds a much greater depth of flavour to dals, or other dishes, especially Bengali.

Other words used to descibe a tarka is tadka or chownk. It is better known as 'tempering' in western cooking.

Its a pity there is a veg stock cube in this recipe, many cubes are high in salt, maybe with msg. With all those spices and a proper tadka, perhaps it is superfluous?

Interesting Lapis, I haven't used the word 'chownk' on this site, not sure why! It is the word used by my entire family in India, I grew up with it and I hear it all the time I visit India!

You are right about the vegetable stock cube or any stock cube for that matter. Most Indian cooks do not use stock cubes, relying on the natural flavour of the ingredients. the salt should not be such a problem though, because if you are using stock, you would use less of it as a whole.

Mamta