Toor dal is a staple dish in Indian cuisine. What I like the most about this dish is that no soaking is required. Like kali dal, the lentil dish is finished with baghar, which is a layer of melted ghee with fried darkened garlic cloves.
Toor dal is a great protein complement for a vegetarian diet when paired with a starch such as rice. Dal is a great way to bring a taste of India into your home.
1. Info for Toor Dal
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 4
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Toor Dal
- 1 cup toor dal
- 2 tablespoons canola oil (or any neutral oil)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, for color
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 quart water, as needed
- 4 dried red chiles
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
- 3 cloves garlic
3. Directions:
- Wash the lentils. Discard any floating or odd-shaped lentils. Wash and rinse thoroughly in several water baths (about three times). Drain the lentils, removing as much of the soaking water as possible. No soaking required.
- In a small pot, combine the lentils, turmeric powder, dried red chiles and red chili powder. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil (I used garlic-infused oil). Add water; the water should cover the lentils entirely. Bring to a boil then lower to a gentle simmer for 45 minutes. Add 1-½ teaspoons of salt half-way through the cooking process (it will bring out the natural flavor of the lentils and the lentils will be more tender) and keep stirring every now and then so the lentils don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the lemon juice.
- Transfer one third of the amount of cooked lentils into the bowl of an immersion blender. Coarsely blend the mixture and pour it back into the pot. Depending on how thick you like toor dal, you can add up to 2 cup of boiling water. Add little mounds of ghee into the lentils. Adjust seasoning and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes over low-heat. Transfer to a serving bowl. Adjust seasoning.
- Coarsely chop the garlic (I cut each clove into four pieces).
- This step is called Baghar: When you’re ready to serve, heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in a small saucepan, add the garlic pieces. Cook in the hot oil; the garlic will darken. Add ghee. Remove from the heat and immediately transfer to the toor dal. Cover the toor dal with a lid (I used a plate to preserve the nice fragrance).
- Serve with basmati rice.
- Bon appétit!
