©Ashy Macbean 2002.

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Tarka dhal

This recipe uses the common red lentils that you get in supermarkets. You can use brown lentils too. They are just red lentils with the skins left on.

Ingredients

2 mugs of red lentils
6 mugs of water
1 onion
2 or 3 tomatoes
1 teaspoon of ground corriander

For garnish each time you serve the dhal:
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
Some whole cumin seeds (A third of a teaspoon?)
vegetable oil

Put the lentils, water, coriander, chopped onion and chopped tomatoes in a pot and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and skim off any froth as it appears.
Cook the dhal until the lentils are breaking up then add salt to taste. Put some dhal in a serving bowl (the rest can be kept in the fridge and reheated). Heat some oil in a frying pan and when it is hot add the chopped garlic and whole cumin seeds. When the garlic starts to brown, pour the mixture over the dhal.

more dhal recipes