Buttery Dal Recipes

BUTTERY MOONG DAL WITH GARLIC AND CUMIN

Steps:

• Put dal, turmeric and salt in a large soup pot, add 7 cups water and bring to a gentle boil, stirring.
• Turn heat very low and cover pot with lid slightly ajar. Check pot and stir frequently, as the dal has a tendency to boil over in the beginning. Skim off and discard any foam that rises. Cook for about 45 minutes, until quite soft. Taste and adjust salt. For a smooth, velvety consistency, purée dal in a blender, then return to pot. If you prefer some texture, just beat with a whisk for a minute or two. (If dal is very thick, thin with a little water.)
• Make the tarka: Heat ghee in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin, chile and garlic and cook until cumin is fragrant and garlic is lightly colored, about 1 minute. Add shallot and continue cooking until shallot is softened, about 1 minute more. Pour contents of skillet into pot and stir into the dal.
• Transfer to a serving bowl or individual soup bowls. Sprinkle with a pinch of garam masala or red chile powder and/or serve with basmati rice, if desired. Dal may be made in advance, refrigerated and reheated (it will solidify when chilled and need thinning). Cool to room temperature before refrigerating. It will keep 2 to 3 days.

THE BEST EASY DAL RECIPE

Steps:

• Rinse the lentils in a sieve, then put them in a large saucepan with the turmeric, several grinds of salt and 3 cups (700ml) of water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes, until soft and broken down.
• Now is a good time to put your rice on, if you're making rice.
• Meanwhile, gather and prep your tarka ingredients. You want everything chopped and measured, ready to go, before you start cooking because you will be adding ingredients to the pan in very quick succession. You may even wish to line everything up in the order it goes in the pan.
• Now make your tarka. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onions until soft and slightly browned. Add the sliced garlic and stir until slightly browning before adding the minced garlic, chili and ginger. Once fragrant, push all of the onions, garlic and ginger to the sides of the pan and add the cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds to the middle of the pan to toast them, just for a few moments until the toasty scent comes out. Then turn off the heat and immediately add the butter and garam masala, coriander and smoked paprika (+ chili powder, if using). The residual heat of the pan will melt the butter so it can very lightly fry the ground spices.
• Once the lentils are cooked, stir in the lemon juice.
• Once ready, pour the tarka mix into the lentils and stir through. Allow the dal to sit, off the heat, for at least 5 minutes. (I use this time to chop coriander and heat up some naan breads.)

MAKHANI DAL (BUTTER DAL), MOGUL-STYLE

Steps:

• Combine the legumes with 4 cups water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil; cook, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover the pot; let the legumes soak for 2 hours.
• Add the whole-milk yogurt, 1 cup onions, tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, paprika, chili and salt to the pot and bring to a boil once more. Cook, partly covered, over low heat for 90 minutes, or until the dal is very soft. Turn off the heat and use an Indian mathani (see related article) to purée the dal for about 1 minute; it should be saucy but not soupy.
• To make the tadka, heat the oil in a small saucepan over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the remaining cup of onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until medium brown. Turn off the heat and stir in the cumin and garam masala.
• Transfer the dal to a large bowl and cover with the low-fat yogurt; top with tadka, stir gently and serve.

BUTTERY DAL

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 4 smashed garlic cloves and 1 diced red onion; saute 6 minutes. Add the contents of the spice bag, the bay leaves and chile pepper from the Curried Lentil Soup Mix and cook about 3 minutes. Add the rest of the soup mix and 8 cups water or chicken broth; simmer until the lentils are soft, about 1 hour. Season with salt.

DAL MAKHANI (BUTTER LENTILS)

Steps:

• Soak lentils in a saucepan of water for 1 hour. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Drain.
• Heat cinnamon, chile powder, coriander, cumin, turmeric, nutmeg, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, cloves, allspice, and bay leaves in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• Stir olive oil into the skillet. Add tomatoes, ginger paste, and garlic; simmer until flavors combine, about 10 minutes. Stir in sugar and salt. Cook until mixture thickens into a pulpy sauce, about 5 minutes. Add lentils and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir cream and butter into sauce. Cook until sauce thickens and lentils are very soft, about 30 minutes. Squeeze some lime juice over each serving.