Dal Fry

Serves 6-8

A piping hot bowl of Dal Fry on a chilly winter afternoon is the ultimate comfort food. As a child, we often had this creamy lentil stew with ghee-laden chapatis for dinner, but this dish is just as good by itself. Although, my favorite way to serve this wholesome lentil curry is generously drizzled over sliced french baguette accompanied by some spicy coriander chutney.

There are three kinds of lentils (dals) you can choose to use in this recipe and each one of them tastes unique. A bag of lentils goes a long way so do remember to buy just one of the three lentils listed below, finish a bag and then move on to the next variety.

Check out our clever chefs on Instagram putting together our dal fry recipe in 15 minutes.

Different kinds of dals you may use in this recipe:
Moong dal (split yellow lentils)
Toor Dal (split pigeon peas)
Masoor Dal (red lentils)

Ingredients

1.5 cups moong dal OR Toor Dal OR Masoor Dal (washed and soaked in about 3 cups water for about an hour)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-4 tablespoons coconut oil or ghee

1/4 teaspoon hing (asafoetida), optional

15-20 curry leaves

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

150g onion, finely chopped

1 .5 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped

1-2 fresh green bird’s eye chilies, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder

500g fresh tomatoes, chopped into cubes

1.5 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Recipe

1Wash moong dal thoroughly with cold water. Soak it in 3 cups of water for about an hour. Next bring it to a boil. Skim any scum off its surface.

2 Lower heat, add turmeric, salt and 1 teaspoon oil. Cook it partially covered for about 10 minutes until moong dal is just done, but still whole (al dente). (Cooking time may vary slightly depending on the size and type of lentils)

3 Heat 3-4 tablespoons oil on medium heat in a wok, add hing, curry leaves and cumin. When cumin starts to splutter, add onions, ginger and chili.

4 Sauté for a few minutes until onion softens.

5 Add turmeric, chili powder, tomatoes, salt, and cook for another 10 minutes until tomatoes soften and spices start to release their oils.

6Add cooked dal and 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil. Add lemon juice and stir. Lower heat and let it simmer for 2-3 more minutes.

7Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or chapatis.

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