The Best Dal You'll Ever Eat

The Best Dal Soup You'll Ever Have

Here’s how you make the most delicious dal soup you’ll ever have. This recipe from my friend Avtar is seriously as good as anything I’ve had in any restaurant in the nation as well as England and Canada. It’a a wow–and yet it looks like a big nothing.

This incredibly flavorful dal can be terrific to serve at parties on your stoop, on your porch, or on the lanai in clear espresso cups with slices of lemon and finely chopped cilantro. Both are required, not optional ingredients. They bring the pizzazz to what is basically just bean soup(!)

Avtar’s Amazing Punjabi Dal

Serves 8

Ingredients:

Dal

2/3 c AVTAR’S SPICY BASE

1 1/2 c mung beans

1/2 c red lentils

Finishing Touches

1 lemon sliced into squeezable sections for each guest

1/2 c finely chopped cilantro

Scant cracked black pepper (optional)

Rinsing the Dal

Rinse 1 1/2 c mung beans.

Boil in water for at least 15-20 minutes, then add in 1/2 c red lentils.

Once both are tender (about 30-45 minutes total), add in 2/3 c of the curry base. Simmer for five minutes. Dal is done. Done! It’s that easy.

Just the Perfect Amount of Curry Base for the Dal

Here’s how you do it when you don’t have really nice mung beans and red lentils.

I WAS MAKING THIS FOR FRIENDS AS YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY READ, and all I had was this split black-colored dal beans. I think due to the easy-to-find yellow dal, you should even consider just using that.

Boil the split lentils that you do have until tender. Add in 2/3 c of base and simmer for five minutes.

Green Green Cilantro and Peppers

Yellow ghee and lemons

My favorite part is reheating this at work. You microwave it like Campbell’s soup. Just be sure to cover it! It’ll burst all over the microwave if you walk away and turn it on for too long. This is a resilient soup. But you have to have to have to have the finely chopped cilantro and the lemon slices, and even the cracked pepper (may I suggest buying a BUILT-IN PEPPER GRINDER FROM THE SUPERMARKET?), so it tastes bright and delicious.

Enjoy!

Let’s get down to brass tacks. Here’s all you do:

Avtar's Punjabi Curry Base

2 large chopped onions

1 head of garlic or about 6-8 large, powerfully fragrant and sticky cloves (finely chop with about 1 t salt)

2-4 medium to hot chilis (finely chopped)

1 1/2″-3″ of ginger (finely chopped)

1 large can of diced tomatoes

3 T ghee or corn oil

a couple of good fistfuls of fragrant cilantro leaves finely chopped

1 1/2 t turmeric

2 t garam masala

I hope the video is ready in time for this post, but if it’s not, just fry the onions in the ghee or oil under they turn golden brown. Turn the heat down by half and had the garlic; keep stirring as it will have a tendency to stick until the garlic just starts to turn golden at the edges. Throw in the green chilies, tumeric and ginger, on medium heat so the turmeric darkens for 2 to 3 minutes. Throw in the chopped tomatoes and finely chopped coriander, and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes; this lets all the flavours infuse and thickens the sauce.

The very last thing is to add the garam masala to taste, turn the heat right down and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Freezing the Curry Base for the Next Time

This base made, now you can use immediately or freeze for use later. The stuff seems to last forever in the freezer.

- See more at: http://www.alunchboxblog.com/a-rendezvous-with-curry-in-alexandria/?preview=true&preview_id=744&preview_nonce=debe441ce8#sthash.hbR96lTO.dpuf

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