Prep Time

　　10 min

　　Active Time

　　50 min

　　Total Time

　　1 hr

　　This is probably the most famous lentil dish coming out of India—yellow lentils tempered with spices and the usual holy trinity of garlic, ginger and chile. It has always been a favorite of mine and it would grace our family dinner table at least once a week when I was growing up. There are lots of different recipes for flavoring the oil (tadka), so play around with your spice pantry and see what you come up with. If you don’t have half of these spices, then don’t worry; just add a tablespoon of your favorite spice paste and it will taste just as delicious.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4

　　1 1/2 cups dried toor dhal (yellow lentils/yellow split peas), rinsed in several changes of water

　　1 teaspoon ground turmeric

　　2 black cardamom pods (optional)

　　3 tablespoons vegetable oil

　　2 cinnamon sticks

　　4 green cardamom pods

　　6 cloves

　　2 teaspoons black mustard seeds

　　1 teaspoon cumin seeds

　　2 scallions, finely sliced

　　2–3 chiles, any color, seeded if you don’t like it fiery, some chopped and the rest left whole

　　2 fat cloves garlic, finely chopped

　　1 tablespoon peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger

　　6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

　　Good pinch of sea salt, or to taste

　　1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste

　　Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste

　　Lots of chopped cilantro, to garnish

　　

Step 1

Gently boil the lentils in a large saucepan of cold water (around 4 cups will do) and stir in the turmeric and black cardamom pods (if using)—this will add a subtle smoky flavor. Allow to cook for around 45 minutes, or until the lentils have softened and started to break down. Skim off any foam that sits on the top and give the lentils a stir every now and again in case they begin to stick on the bottom. If they boil dry, add more water.

　　

Step 2

Once the lentils have softened, turn down the heat and make the tadka. Gently heat the oil in a skillet and add the cinnamon sticks, green cardamom pods and cloves. When the cardamoms have turned white and the heads of the cloves have swollen, you are ready to stir in the mustard and cumin seeds. When they are sizzling, stir in the scallions, chiles, garlic and ginger.

　　

Step 3

After a minute, stir through the tomatoes and turn off the heat. Pour the tadka into the dhal so that it floats on top. This is the traditional way to serve it, with the scented oil sitting on top, but I prefer to stir it through. Season with salt, sugar and lemon juice. Finally, stir through plenty of chopped cilantro and serve with some rice or fresh bread for the ultimate comfort food.

　　Reprinted from The Indian Family Kitchen: Classic Dishes for a New Generation by Anjali Pathak. Copyright © 2015 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.