Daal! dal, dhal or maybe dahl! Whichever way you write it, it’s the same warming, spicy delicious bowl of goodness which can be used as a main, or a side, eaten with rice, with bread, or just on its own! As I have several really good friends who are Bengali (or married to Bengali’s) I have had more than my fair share of this lentil dish! 😀 I’ve eaten mountains of this at parties where it’s the only non-meat dish and, if we order a take-out, then this is always added as a side dish, but it really is easier than you think to make your own! 🙂
Daal goes well with these other Indian dishes such as Chickpea, sweet potato and spinach curry, or Saag Aloo, always with chickpeas or with these crispy spicy morsels which are lentil pakora! 😀
Of course, as with most dishes, you can customise this to your liking – add a bit more chilli, tone down the coriander, up the garlic, make it more soup-like or indeed make it thicker so it can easily be scooped up rather than dipped in!
Make the daal as thick as you like…
Have a look at the recipe then let me know in the comments what you’d eat this with! 🙂 I will be taking this over to Angie’s Fiesta Friday this weekend where I am co-hosting again 🙂 If you’ve never been over to Fiesta Friday, it’s a weekly blog party where loads of us get together and share recipes, tips, and creative posts. You just follow the link to Fiesta Friday and have a look around. The party starts on a Friday (around 1pm UK time) and continues all weekend until Tuesday (past midnight UK time)! Plenty of time to visit all the blogs, leave some comments, make new friends! You are welcome to add your own posts too, so long as you follow the rules! Basically that means adding the link to the party, linking to the (usually) two co-hosts and visiting other bloggers posts! This week I’m co-hosting with Deb at the Pantry Portfolio – come on over and join the fun! 😀
Homemade warming spicy lentil daal.
- 1 teaspoon oil we used coconut
- 2 teaspoons panch puran A seed mixture of fenugreek, cumin, mustard, fennel & nigella
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic finely sliced
- 1.5 cups washed red split lentils
- 4 cups water
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (or 1/2 a fresh green chilli finely sliced)
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2-1 teaspoon salt we used pink Himalayan
- 1 teaspoon dried coriander or a bunch of fresh coriander
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Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then add the panch puran (seeds) until they start to splutter.
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Add the onion, stir and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. (If using fresh chilli add this with the garlic but mind your eyes!)
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Tip the lentils in, mix to coat, cook for 30 seconds then carefully pour the water in, stir and leave to cook for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Halfway through cooking, add the fresh chopped tomato (stir in). Add more water if necessary.
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Sprinkle in the turmeric, cumin, chilli and coriander powder. Allow to simmer for a further 10 minutes. Season with salt. Stir. Taste test and adjust seasonings as necessary.
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Before serving, sprinkle the daal with the dried (or fresh) coriander.
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Enjoy!
- Serve with rice or bread.
- Have as a side with other Indian inspired dishes.
- Make it spicy and add fresh green chilli.
- Add more panch puran to really get those flavours.
- Make your own panch puran mix if you can't find ready made - use equal amounts of each seed.
- Store refrigerated for up to three days.
