Dal tadka

Ingredients

Quantities for 4 servings.

• 200 g Toor dal, rinsed
• 0.5 tsp Turmeric
• 3 tbsp Ghee
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 0.5 tsp Mustard seeds
• 4 clove Garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 piece Onion
• 2 piece Tomato
• 2 piece Dried red chillies
• 1 pinch Asafoetida
• to taste Salt

Method

1. Cover the lentils with three cups of water, add the turmeric and simmer covered for thirty minutes, until the grains collapse into a soft mass.
2. Mash some of the lentils against the side of the pot and season. The consistency should be that of a thick soup.
3. Separately fry the onion until golden, add the tomatoes and cook until they break down into a sauce. Stir that into the lentils.
4. Heat the ghee in a small pan until it is just short of smoking. Add the mustard seeds; they should crackle within seconds.
5. Add the cumin at once, the garlic and chillies ten seconds later, the asafoetida twenty seconds after that. The whole thing takes under a minute and cannot be left alone.
6. Pour the sizzling tadka straight into the lentils — it should hiss. Stir once and serve with rice or flatbread.