Megha's Daal Tadka

Method

1. 1

   Rinse and soak the lentils in cold water while you prep the other ingredients.

2. 2

   Heat olive oil (or ghee) over low-medium heat in a medium-sized pot. Once the oil is heated, add in the cumin seeds. You should hear a few little pops.

3. 3

   Add the diced red onion and add a pinch of salt to encourage the onions to release water and caramelize/brown. Sauté until the onions are translucent.

4. 4

   Add the ginger, garlic, and green chillies to the onions. Cook them down with the onions until the mixture starts to brown. Keep on low to medium heat; this process can take anywhere from 10 to upwards of 20 minutes.

5. 5

   As the mixture starts to get brown and more dry in the pot, add the tomatoes. Once you've added the tomatoes, add in the salt and the ground spices: garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder, and ground cumin. You want to do this only once the tomatoes are added in; doing this before will cause the spices to burn.

6. 6

   Cook down the tomatoes so that most of the moisture is gone. This process can also take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes depending on the moisture in the tomatoes.

7. 7

   Drain the lentils from the water they were soaking in and add the lentils to the pot. Mix around for 1 minute and then add the water.

8. 8

   Bring the mixture in the pot to a boil. Once it's boiling lower the temperature back to low-medium and cover, stirring occasionally to prevent the lentils from sticking to the pot.

9. 9

   As the lentils are close to being fully cooked, add in the lemon juice.

10. 10

    Continue to cook down until the lentils are fully cooked (i.e. soft all the way through).

11. 11

    Once cooked, transfer daal into a serving bowl and garnish with finely chopped coriander.

12. 12

    Serve with plain white basmati rice, roti, or naan.