Name: Lasooni Dal Tadka
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: ¼ cup Split Pigeon Peas, pigeon peas, washed; ¼ cup Split Yellow Mung Beans, split yellow gram, washed; 8 clove Garlic, finely chopped, divided; ½ Onion, finely chopped; ½ Tomato, finely chopped; 1 Green Chili Pepper, slit; ¼ tsp Ground Turmeric; ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder; ¾ tsp Cumin Seeds, divided; 1½ Dried Red Chili Peppers; ⅛ tsp Asafoetida, hing; 1½ tbsp Cooking Oil, divided (for boiling & tadka); ½ tsp Salt, to taste; 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped

50 mintotal

30 min hands-on20 min hands-off

Prep 10 min · Cook 20 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Spicy

Add to your week

Method

In a pressure cooker, combine the washed lentils with measured water, turmeric, half the salt and a little oil. Cook for 4 whistles until soft, then whisk smooth.
In a kadhai, bring a portion of the oil to temperature. Introduce a measure of the cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.
Add half of the finely chopped garlic, the green chillies, and the asafoetida. Sauté vigorously until the garlic achieves a golden roast.
Stir in the chopped onions, cooking until translucent, followed by the tomatoes. Cook down until the mixture forms a soft, unified paste.
Transfer the smooth boiled dal into the kadhai. Homogenize the mixture, adjusting consistency with hot water as required. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
5 min
For the second lasooni tadka, heat the remaining oil in a small tempering pan.
Sizzle the remaining cumin seeds, the reserved chopped garlic, and the dry red chillies.
Fry steadily on a low flame until the garlic borders on burnt (a deep, dark brown). Instantly remove from heat and flash-mix the red chilli powder to bloom its color.
Pour the browned-garlic tempering over the simmering dal.
Garnish with freshly chopped coriander and serve immediately.

How to tell it's done

A luxuriously smooth, golden-yellow base abruptly crowned by a fiercely aromatic, dark-brown garlic and red oil suspension.

Getting it right

Tip

Take the second garlic tempering to deep golden-brown, stopping before it burns. That darker garlic gives the dal its dhaba-style punch.

What to serve it with

Exceptional when cascaded over steaming Jeera Rice or scooped with fresh, charred tandoori rotis.

Common mistakes

The garlic tadka burns and turns bitter.: Brown the garlic patiently and stop at deep golden-brown, not black. Burnt garlic will overpower the mild lentils.

Storing and reheating

Refrigerate lasooni dal tadka in a covered container for up to 3 days. Reheat until hot and loosen with water if needed; freeze for up to 2 months, adding a fresh garlic tadka after reheating if possible.

UP Style Aloo Sahjan

Aloo sahjan cooks drumsticks with potato in a mustard gravy, the pods scraped at the table.

55 minvegan

Upwas Misal (Farali Misal)

Farali misal builds the Maharashtrian misal from peanuts and potato instead of sprouts.

55 minvegan

Veg Kolhapuri

Veg Kolhapuri cooks mixed vegetables in the fiery Kolhapuri masala of roasted coconut, sesame and red chilli.

1 hr 5 minvegan

Restaurant Style Veg Tawa Masala

Veg tawa masala cooks mixed vegetables hard on a flat griddle, so the masala catches and browns rather than simmering.

1 hr 10 minvegan

Vrat Wala Paneer (Paneer Makhana Gravy)

Vrat wala paneer cooks paneer with fox nuts in a cashew gravy, seasoned with rock salt.

45 minvegetarian

Vrat Wale Aloo Tamatar

Vrat wale aloo tamatar cooks potato in tomato with rock salt, seasoned for fasting rules.

1 hr 25 minvegetarian

Ingredients