Special dal-tadka
- Cuisine: Indian
- Serves: 8
- Preparation time: 10 minutes
- Cooking time: 40 – 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- Chana dal (split chickpeas) 250 grams
- Toor dal (pigeon peas) 125 grams
- Water 1.5 litres
- Onions, sliced 2 large
- Tomatoes, pureed 4 medium
- Garlic paste 1 tablespoon
- Ginger paste 1 tablespoon
- Turmeric 1 tablespoon
- Cumin powder 1 tablespoon
- Coriander powder 1 tablespoon
- Red chilli powder (only if you want it to be spicy) 1 teaspoon
- Salt to taste
- Oil- for cooking
For tempering (a cooking technique in which whole spices are roasted in oil or ghee)
- Oil or ghee 2 tablespoons
- Cumin seeds 1 tablespoon
- Cinnamon 1 inch stick
- Cloves 2-3
- Cardamom 2-3
- Dry red chillies 2-3
- Hing (Asafoetida) a pinch
Method:
1. Wash the chana dal and toor dal and add water, turmeric and salt to taste. Boil it in a pan for 40 minutes (chana dal takes longer to boil) or in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes. Cook until tender and then leave aside.
2. In the meantime, put 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep non-stick pan, add the sliced onions and saute’ till golden brown. Add garlic paste to it and saute’ till the raw smell disappears.
3. Add the pureed tomatoes, ginger paste, cumin, coriander and red chilli powder to it. Saute till the oil starts to separate from the paste.
4. Pour the dal into the deep pan with the gravy. Mix everything well.
5. For tempering, use another pan and pour 2 tablespoons of oil. Once, the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, hing and red chillies to it. Cook for 1 minute.
6. Add the dal mixed with gravy, into this pan and cover it with a lid.
7. Dal tadka is ready and it can be served in a bowl. It tastes great with rice or flatbreads.