Urad Dal with Tomatoes (Urad Tamatar Dal)

This simple Urad Dal Soup has long been one of my favorites. I've been making it for years, so it's a wonder I haven't made it since starting Lisa's Kitchen. Because it's one of my favorites, I'm sharing the recipe with Running with Tweezers who will be hosting The Second Annual Soup Challenge. The recipe is adapted from one of favorite cookbooks, Lord Krishna's Cuisine, by Yamuna Devi.

Popular in North India, urad dal is high in protein, and tastes best when seasoned with ginger, red chilies, turmeric, asafetida and fresh parsley or coriander among other herbs and spices. Serve with Piquant Lemon Rice, a vegetable dish and an Indian style bread for a nutritious and satisfying meal.

Urad Dal and Tomato Soup

3/4 cups of split urad dal, without skins
6 cups of water
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of turmeric
dash of cayenne pepper
3 tablespoon of ghee, or a mixture of butter and oil
3 medium-sized tomatoes, cut into large chunks
2 jalapeno or fresh chilies, finely chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons of sea salt
2 teaspoons of fresh ginger, shredded or minced
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
2 - 3 dried red chilies, broken into bits
1/2 teaspoon of yellow asafetida powder
2 tablespooons of fresh parsley, chopped

Remove any bits of debris from the ural dal. Wash well and set aside.

Bring the water, turmeric, cayenne, and a dab of the ghee or butter and oil to a boil in a large pot. Stir in the urad dal and again bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderately low, cover and gently boil for about 30 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and the fresh jalapeno or hot chillies to the pot. Cover and continue to cook for another hour or until the dal is soft and fully cooked. Remove from the heat, add the salt and stir.

Heat the ghee or butter and oil in a small pot over moderately high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ginger, cumin seeds and dried red chili in rapid succession. Fry until the cumin seeds and chili turn brown. Add the asafetida powder, and after a second or two, quickly pour the fried seasonings into the dal. Immediately cover and allow the seasonings to soak into the dal for a few minutes.

Add the parsley and stir and serve.

Serves 6 - 8 people.