MUST HAVE DAL. NEED IT NOW.

The comfort of lentils, the discomfort of spice and chilli.

It happens seemingly at random, but suddenly it’s there. The need for dal (or daal, or dhal). Lentils are grounding, filling, restorative. Plus, they are made pesky with spice, so they are interesting, and not as passive as they look.

Plus, they’re damn easy to cook.

I usually run two dal recipes, one fast and one slow, so here’s the fast one this week for the impatient types out there, and the slow one next week, for those who know that good things can take time.

Shopping list: So you’ll be needing the easily obtained masoor dal for the quick dal (no soaking), and you have time to find urad dal for the slow dal (soaking).

LET’S TALK TADKA.

Let’s also discuss the tadka, that toasty, roasty, finishing touch of spices and aromatics that brings a bowlful of dal alive.

Tadka is essentially the tempering of spices, heating them in hot oil or ghee to bring out and capture their flavour (to bloom).

A successful tadka can be built on quite a few ingredients - onions, garlic, ginger, whole spices, ground spices, tomato paste, dried red chillies, fresh chillies, chilli powder, garam masala, fresh or dried curry leaves, you name it – or very few.  It can be done at the start, or at the end as a final seasoning.

There are approximately one billion four hundred and thirty-three thousand ways to tadka, so here’s a template you can run with:

Heat a tablespoon or two of ghee or sunflower oil in a pan or pot, to very hot. Turn down the heat to medium, and add 1 tsp mustard seeds and 1 tsp cumin seeds. As soon as they pop and crackle, add some sliced chillies and a little grated ginger; move it all round in the oil for 30 seconds or so.  Optional: add a pinch of asofoetida (hing), India’s answer to umami, and heat it through. Then tip the whole lot into your curry or dal.

Tip: Have the curry or dal ready to go. The whole point of a tadka is capturing the moment. It’s a spicegeist.

Tadka-topped dal for tea with last night’s left-over rice and green mango curry.

FIND A GOOD FOOD STORE

Oh, the joy of walking into a good food store with shelf upon shelf of lentils, grams, split peas and the rest of the gang. One that has spices and curry leaves and asafoetida and chillies, and a nice person at the front desk who can help you with your recipe.

Here’s how it went down at New Indian Store, last weekend.

Me: Hi, can you point me in the direction of the urad dal please?

Him: Last aisle by the wall.

Me: I’m making dhal. Do you have any good advice for making the tadka?

Him: Everything fresh.

Me: I have onion, garlic, whole coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek.

Him: And mustard seeds.

Me: Brown or yellow?

Him: Always brown. Never yellow.

Me: Why not?

Him: Yellow is for west.

Me: Oh, of course. Is there any, like, special ingredient that your mother would use to make the tadka?

Him: Lots of love.

QUICK DAHL

Masoor dal, red split lentils or split peas, turn yellow when cooked. Use a ratio of 1 part lentils to 5 parts cold water.

• 250 g red lentils (masoor dal)

• 1.25 litres water

• Half tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger

• 1 tomato, diced

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• Your choice of chilli powder, to taste

• 1 tsp sea salt

• Handful fresh coriander leaves

Wash the lentils briskly in a bowl of cold water and drain.

Place lentils in a pot, cover with 1.2 litres cold water and bring to a simmer, skimming off any foam that appears.

Add the ginger and turmeric, stirring, then partly cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomato, cumin, coriander, chilli and salt, and cook through for 5 minutes.

If too runny, up the heat and keep stirring as it thickens (don’t let it catch on the bottom).

Make the tadka (see below), tip it on top of the dal, stir through and serve with coriander leaves.

Options: Add a handful of baby spinach towards the end of cooking. Or throw in a handful of red kidney beans or chickpeas (cooked or canned) for extra texture and excitement.

QUICK TADKA FOR DAL:

• 2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil

• 1 tsp mustard seeds

• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 red or green chili, finely sliced

• 10 curry leaves

• Pinch of asofoetida (hing)

Heat the oil in a small non-stick frying pan or small saucepan.

When hot, add the mustard seeds and fry for 30 seconds or so until they crackle and pop.

Add the garlic, cumin seeds, fresh chilli and curry leaves and fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until it all smells toasty (not burnt).

Add the asofoetida if using, and stir through.

Tip the tadka into the hot lentils and stir through.

 Add salt to taste, and serve.

Confession: I’ve dropped the oft-used whole coriander seeds from my tadka because they’re just too darn crunchy.

Pssst, here’s next week’s slow dal; it’s sooooo good.

Thanks for dropping by! And as always, thanks for your comments and suggestions. Special thanks to Terry for carrying all my lentils and spices on the 45 minute walk home.

I would also like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I fully support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to be recognised in Australia’s Constitution.