One of the best presents I ever got from my husband is a Finnish sauna. I hate the cold weather and nightly little jaunts in the heat & steam make it possible for me to look ahead to warmer days. It’s a quiet place away from the hustle and bustle of life and my favorite thing to do is read magazines in there. The latest Food & Wine issue had an incredible cover of a dal swimming in spices and chilies. So…..that was my next day’s dinner!
Tadka Dal (from Food & Wine)
Dal:
- 2 cups split yellow mung beans
- 1 cup split red lentils
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil (any vegetable oil: sunflower, grapeseed, etc.)
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 4-5 cloves (whole)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium serrano chilies (any chilli: fresno, jalapeno, etc.)
- 1 medium tomato chopped (or a handful of cherry tomatoes – about 1 cup)
- handful of chopped cilantro
- 6 cups water
Directions:
Like I said, this is a Food & Wine Magazine recipe that I tweaked a bit based on the ingredients available and personal taste. You can find the original recipe here (I omitted the roti, I served my dal with homemade naan which will be a future post): https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/tadka-dal-with-roti
Stir together split yellow mung beans, the split red lentils, salt, turmeric, and 6 cups water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium-low; partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until dal is soft and tender, 35 to 40 minutes. It took me 40 min with the last 15 min on the lowest simmer.
In another heavy-bottomed saucepan, I heated my coconut oil and when it shimmered I added the cardamom pods, the cumin seeds, the whole cloves and the mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds start popping, add the onion and the chilies (I had Fresno chilies); cook stirring often until the onion is golden and staring to brown a bit (about 5-8 min).
Add tomato; cook, stirring often until the tomato breaks down (another 2-4 min).
Add the the tomato/onion mixture to the dal; stir to combine. Check your seasoning and add salt, if needed.
I served my dal with fresh, homemade naan which will make it the subject of another post; store-bought and warmed up naan or roti is perfectly fine. An innovative and unique beer (loosely defined “beer”) was a perfect beverage to accompany this dish. This is from a Queens, NY brewery called Evil Twin Brewery and this beer (ET Stay Home) is more like a thick, fruit shake with plenty of acidity and sweetness to cut through the spiciness and body of this dal. Enjoy!
