Tarka dal
Red lentils cooked down until soupy, finished with garlic and mustard seeds sizzled in oil.
Serves 6 as part of a curry night spread.
Ingredients
You will need: a large pan, a small pan for the tarka.
- 200 grams red lentils, rinsed
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 vegetable stock cubes, crumbled
- 750 millilitres water, plus more as needed
For the tarka
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 3 teaspoons garlic puree, or 4 cloves, sliced
- 1 fresh chilli, sliced
Method
- Put the lentils, water, turmeric and crumbled stock cubes in a large pan. Simmer, stirring now and then, until the lentils break down into a loose, soupy consistency. Add water if it gets too thick.
27 min
For the tarka
- In a small pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds until they pop. Add the garlic and fresh chilli and cook until the garlic is just golden. Watch it closely, as it burns quickly.
- Stir the sizzling contents of the small pan through the lentils.
Keeping it
Thickens considerably in the fridge. Loosen with a splash of water when reheating.
The water quantity is the one to watch. This started at 1.2 litres and needed about 500ml tipped away to stop it being lentil soup, so 750ml is the honest figure and the step tells you to top it up if it tightens too far.