Lentil or Split Pea Dal With Garlic Butter

Submitted by figaro8895

"Julie Sahni's method"

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 1 1/2 cups yellow lentils or 1 1/2 cups brown lentils
• 5 cups water
• 3⁄4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1⁄3 cup chopped fresh coriander

• For TADKA of Cumin-Garlic

• 5 tablespoons light vegetable oil or 5 tablespoons ghee
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 5 -6 large garlic cloves, peeled and thickly sliced
• 2 -3 dried small red peppers

directions

1. Pick over, clean, and rinse the split peas.
2. Place them in a deep pot, add the water, turmeric, and salt, and bring to a boil. Boil the peas gently, partially covered, until they are very soft, about 45 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally to ensure they do not stick to bottom of the pan.
3. Turn off the heat and beat the split peas with a wire whisk or wooden spoon for a minute or until they look thick and creamy.
4. You should have 5 cups of puree; if not, add additional water.
5. Return the puree to the pot, add black pepper, and heat until boiling.
6. Turn off the heat and fold in the chopped coriander; keep the dal covered.
7. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds.
8. When the seeds turn several shades darker, add the garlic and optional red peppers. Cook until the garlic is browned and the oil is infused with its flavor.
9. Pour the oil-garlic mixture onto the dal. Mix well.
10. Taste for pepper and salt.
11. Serve spooned into small bowls.

Reviews

[Anu_N]

Scaled this down all the way to 1 serving and it still worked with only the minimal amount of adjustment to cooking times. Might want to watch the salt, though; mine was a little too salty for my taste. The cumin-garlic seasoning adds a tremendous amount of flavour. I also left the lentils un-mashed - just a personal choice :) Thanks for this one! Quick and easy, will definitely make this again.