dhal tadka

our sweet friends nick and becca came over this evening for dinner and fellowship, we haven't had the chance to catch up with them in a while, so we really needed to get together! Nick and Becca just bought their very first house-which is so exciting for them! We spent the evening chatting over that news and listening to nick share his mutual vision and dreams for being in the kitchen, baking and creating, it was such a relaxing wonderful time. 

I promised them i would make some indian food, and with them being [mostly] vegan, i had to go back into my archives and draw upon tasty recipe that i hoped would satisfy the indian craving as well as follow their vegan wishes:) 

fortunately, i have a few indian dishes that just so happen to be vegan [by accident, mind you], but they qualify! yay!

i revisited one of my favorites, one of the very first indian/bengali dishes that i learned to make, dhal tadka, a creamy hearty comfort bowl of yellow lentils cooked down- seasoned with spices, fresh ginger, onions, and garlic- so aromatic and easily spilled over basmati rice, followed by sopping it up with a hot fluffy roti. 

do i need to say more? 


ok, i will:) tadka means tempering in hindi.  with this technique, the herbs and spices are fried in ghee or oil, which opens wide the essential oil doors to be released, giving the dish such an intense depth of flavor. as the lentils are cooking, i am simultaneously sizzling up those spices and aromatics, which ultimately leads the culmination of the entire dish after i add the temper to the dhal. 

I have made this dish many times, it is such a comfort to me, tasting hints of Bangladesh, and immediately arising memories of my time there. 

I have posted this recipe quite a while back, but since then, i have continued to perfect and experiment, playing around with flavor and spice, i am loving that is seems to improve as i gain experience in making it again and again. I love now that as my heat level has rose, this recipe seems to have tagged along for the ride. 

in this written recipe, i did use ghee, to keep it authentic-nick and becca didn't mind-they are always willing to make an exception-and honestly, that is the only dairy to be found in this dish, but for those want to keep it strictly vegan, you can certainly use oil. 

let's move on to the recipe. 

you'll need:


1 cup yellow mung dal lentils
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 half of a large tomato, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 green chili, deseeded, chopped finely
1 tsp garam masala
1 pinch of asafoetida
1 tablespoon kasuri methi[dried fenugreek leaves]
1 pinch of chili powder
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

in a large pot, rinse the dhal a couple of times till the water runs clear. Add about 2 and half cups of water and a splash of olive oil on the surface and heat on medium-high heat. [the oil helps the lentils not spill over the edges of the pot.]  i also soaked the lentils ahead of time for about an hour or two because it plumps them up big time, but you certainly do not have to do this:) add turmeric.

in another pan, heat up 1-2 tablespoons of ghee [or oil.] toss in mustard seeds and give them a bit of time to pop. add chopped ginger and garlic that you have already smashed in the mortar and pestle in a chunky paste. you want the garlic to brown a bit. add chopped onion and tomato, stirring often to coat and fry everything. next goes in the finely chopped green chili. seeds adds more heat, so maybe start with half of a chili if you aren't looking for a crazy amount of heat. i chopped in half with seeds.  

allow everything to saute and cook and aromas to be released. add garam masala, chili powder, and towards the end, crush the kasuri methi and sprinkle in last. 

if dhal pot is boiling and seems a bit dry, add more water. stir and pour in tadka mixture. continue to stir and mix flavors together. taste test and add a generous pinch of salt or to your taste. 

i added more fenugreek leaves at this point, and also the chopped cilantro. 

it should be a thick creamy consistency and coat the back of a spoon. 

serve hot over a lump of basmati rice and plenty of roti. i also fried up some flaky samosas with a cooling mint chutney to dip.

enjoy.