Tarka Dal

If you've ever been to an Indian restaurant in North America, you've probably seen tarka dal on the menu. Almost always a bowl of yellow lentils cooked and mashed to a thick soup-like consistency, the name tarka dal is actually a generic term for any cooked dal tempered with a a final addition of seeds and spices fried in hot oil — the tarka — to give it a simple but elegant finish.

This version of tarka dal uses toor dal, otherwise known as toovar dal or split pigeon peas, which I find are a slightly sweeter and more full-textured dal than most. With very little preparation or cooking time, this tarka dal is an excellent addition to a full-course Indian meal, or makes a quick and simple but lovely Indian supper by itself with rice and a green salad. If you'd like to serve it in bowls almost as a soup, as I find most Indian restuarants do, add another 3/4 cup of water to the dal while cooking to thin the consistency.

Tarka Dal

Dal:

1 cup toor dal
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon ghee or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
3 hot red or green chillies, slit down one side
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Tarka:

1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon split and skinless urad dal
4 dried red chillies, crumbled
1 small onion, cut lengthwise into thin wedges
2 cloves garlic, slightly crushed
6 curry leaves
1/8 teaspoon asafoetida

Rinse the toor dal thoroughly and combine with all the other dal ingredients except for the salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour or until the dal is very soft and the water is mostly reduced. Remove from heat, stir in the salt, and purée to a thick soupy paste with a hand-blender or potato masher. Set aside.

Heat the ghee or oil for the tarka in a small frying pan over medium heat. When hot, toss in the black mustard seeds. As soon as the seeds start to sputter, usually a few seconds depending on the intensity of the heat, add the urad dal, chillies, onion, garlic and curry leaves. Stir fry for a few minutes until the urad dal turns reddish-brown. Toss in the asafoetida, stir once, then pour the tarka into the dal and mix.

Serve hot or warm over a bed of white rice, or in bowls if adding extra water. Serves 4.