Tarka Daal

Daal is a south Asian term for dried, split pulses which are made into a spicy soup. This can vary from a thick consistency to the more runny one depending on your preferences.

Growing up, my mum has always cooked a thick Tarka Daal as a lovely side dish to the meaty curries such as a spicy chicken or lamb bhuna. I’ve always enjoyed this delicious, perfect comfort food dish on the dinner table and I hope you will enjoy my version!

Note: this is the cheats easy version as usually Tarka (shallow fried garlic and dried chillis) is added at the end of the dish, but in this recipe I cook the Tarka at the beginning to avoid unnecessary splatter. 🙄

INGREDIENTS

12 tbsp dried lentils 1.5 tsp salt 1.5 tbsp olive oil 5 cloves of crushed garlic / 1 cube of frozen garlic 1/2 onion 2 bayleaves 1 small piece of cinnamon 1/2 tsp tumeric powder 1/2 tsp coriander powder 1/2 tsp curry powder 2 pint glasses of water 2-3 dried red chillies

METHOD

Set the lentils in a bowl of warm water for 30 mins prior to cooking.

1. Dice the onion.

2. Add the oil to a pan, let it heat up and add the crushed garlic and dry red chillies. Turn the heat down and let this brown (be mindful it may splatter oil).

3. Once browned, add the diced onions, salt, bayleaf and cinnamon. Let this mix on medium heat for approx 6 mins. Be careful it doesn’t burn, add a splash of water if you need to.

4. Add the spices – tumeric, coriander and curry powder. Mix and let it infuse for a further 3 mins.

5. Drain the lentils, re-wash with cold water, drain the water then add the lentils to the pan. Let it infuse with the spices for approx 7 mins.

6. Add 2 pints water, place it on medium heat and let the lentils soften until it is mashed and the consistency is medium runny. You can use a hand whisker to make the lentils dissolve if you need to after. You can choose to add some halved cherry tomatoes too for an extra splash of colour.

7. Taste for salt (add more if you want to) then garnish with fresh coriander and 3 green chillies halved with seeds.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!