Masaledaar Dal / Lentil Fry

Dal Fry

This is a Dal / Lentil fry that is apt for those cold afternoons when something nice and spicy is needed to warm ourselves. Pair it with rice and a papad and make a meal of it curled up on your sofa. Or water it down and have it hot as a soup. Dal is an integral part of Indian meals and is made in so many different ways across the country. India has different varieties of dals / lentils and each of them can be made in so many ways ways and with different seasonings changing the taste completely. Dals / Lentils are also paired off with vegetables, meat and other dals / lentils to create different dishes and tastes.

This dal fry is my husband's favorite amd looks forward to my making this and sometimes time permitting makes it himself. I do not make it often because I feel the other dals I make take lesser amount of oil / ghee than this Dal Fry. The other ways I make tuwar dal requires oil / ghee only for the tadka whereas in the Dal Fry enough oil to fry the onions is required. But guess it's ok when this Dal Fry is made once in a while.  

Ingredients

Tuwar Dal - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1.5
Tomato - 1
Garlic - 4 cloves
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind - 1/4 tsp paste
Turmeric pwd - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli pwd - 1 tsp
Green chilli - 2
Coriander leaves - 2 to 3 sprigs
Oil - 2 tbsp oil / butter
Salt as per taste

Crush the cumin seeds, julienne the garlic cloves, slit the green chillies and chop the onion and tomatoes.

Wash and clean the tuwar dal and add 1 cup water and pressure cook for 3 whistles.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan and when hot add the crushed cumin seeds. Stir it and add 3/4th of the chopped onions and julienned garlic and saute till the onions are light golden in color. Add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and the green chillies and saute till the tomatoes turn mush. Add the cooked dal in along with 1 cup of water and little salt and mix well. Let it boil and check for salt and add some if necessary. Add the tamarind paste and the chopped coriander leaves and stir in and give it one boil. Take off the heat and keep aside.

 

In a separate pan add the remaining oil or add some butter for that extra taste. When hot add the remaining chopped onion and saute till light golden. Add a pinch each of turmeric and red chilli powders and mix and then take it off heat and add it to the prepared dal. Keep covered till ready to serve.

Serve hot with rice and papad.