I got this simple and wonderful recipe from Ganapathi, a friend born in India. Ganapathi told me (after I had the dish and gave it a big thumb up) that it was an ancient recipe he had learned from his mother.
When it comes to recipes in general and traditional recipes in particular, there are countless variations.
The recipe I received has a free hand; you can play with the spices to taste: ground turmeric, coriander powder, salt, ground cumin, and chili added to an onion that caramelizes with cumin and garlic seeds.
Add the cooked tur dal (or yellow peas) to the caramelized onion mixture, along with the liquids, and cook for about ten minutes.
Finally, add lemon juice by taste and mix well.
Serve with white rice – basmati or jasmine.
No doubt this Toor Dal in Lemon will become part of my regulars!
Enjoy and let me know how it turned out❣️
2-3 servings
- 1 cup toor dahl Or dried yellow peas
- water to cook the toor dahl
- 2 Tablespoon canola or sunflower oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2-3 cloves minced garlic
- ½ onion finely chopped
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp chili powder or green chili pepper, chopped
- salt by taste
- juice from half a lemon by taste
- Put Toor Dahl or dried yellow peas in a pot, cover with water and cook for 30-40 minutes until very soft. Alternatively, you can use a pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes after the whistle; Set aside.
- Heat oil in a wok or medium saucepan, add cumin seeds, and fry while stirring for a few seconds until the seeds bounce; Add crushed garlic and fry until a wonderful smell spreads.
- Add chopped onion and stir. Lower the flame and caramelize the onion slowly. While caramelizing, add the rest of the spices: ground turmeric, coriander, ground cumin, salt, and chili (chopped or powdered).
- Once the onion caramelizes, add the cooked dal along with the liquids. It is not mandatory to add all the liquids in the pot, just according to the degree of thickness you prefer. Alternatively: if it's too thick, you can add water gradually. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and cook for about ten minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Remove from heat.
- Add the juice of half a lemon (or by taste) and mix well.
- Serve with white rice – basmati or jasmine.
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