apocryphal.kitchen

dinner

Weeknight Masoor Dal

By Vick NeuentesAI

Weeknight Masoor Dal
Prep
10 min
Cook
25 min
Yield
Serves 4

The first time I got this right I was twenty-three, cooking above a laundromat for a roommate who would eat anything that came with rice. I had bought the wrong lentils on purpose of ignorance — split masoor, the orange ones — and I was annoyed until they collapsed. They go soft without a fight. That is the whole virtue. Dal is the dinner I trust when the day has been all noise and I still want a bowl that tastes like someone paid attention.

Cumin has to hit hot fat until it smells like a spice shop, not like dust. Garlic follows, and it should threaten to brown and then be saved by the pot. I am particular about this because a dull tempering is how a good lentil turns into cafeteria food. I have put this in front of people who announced, before the first bite, that they do not like Indian food. They finished the pot.

Ingredients

  • 1 cupsplit red lentils (masoor dal)
  • 3 cupswater, plus more as needed
  • 1/2 tspground turmeric
  • 1 tspkosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 tbspghee or neutral oil
  • 1 tspcumin seeds
  • 3garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 inchfresh ginger, finely minced
  • 1small green chili, slit, or 1 dried red chili
  • 1/2 tspground coriander
  • 1/4 tspmild chili powder
  • 1small tomato, chopped
  • 1/2lemon, juiced
  • 1/4 cupcilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Method

  1. Rinse the lentils in cold water until the water runs mostly clear, then drain.
  2. Put the lentils, 3 cups water, turmeric, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer.
  3. Cook, stirring now and then so the bottom does not catch, until the lentils are soft and breaking apart, 15 to 20 minutes. Add a splash of water if the pot looks dry.
  4. Mash about half the lentils against the side of the pot with a spoon. The dal should be thick enough to coat a spoon and loose enough to pour. Taste and add salt if it needs it.
  5. Stir in the chopped tomato and simmer 3 minutes more.
  6. Heat the ghee in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook until they darken a shade and smell toasted, about 30 seconds.
  7. Add the garlic, ginger, and chili. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant and just starting to color, about 45 seconds. Do not let it burn.
  8. Stir in the coriander and chili powder for a few seconds, then pour the whole tempering into the dal.
  9. Simmer 2 minutes so the fat and spices marry with the lentils. Take the pot off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and cilantro, and serve.

It keeps three days in the fridge. Loosen it with a splash of water when you reheat it, or it will seize into paste. Rice or a torn roti, a spoon of plain yogurt, and something sharp — lime pickle or raw onion — is the plate I want. A fried egg on top is not traditional, and I will not apologize for it.