With Indian food being so popular it is quite easy to opt for a take-away or to eat out at an Indian restaurant, but cooking delicious Indian food can be quite easy and it lends itself very well to people who are vegetarian or vegan. This dhal (also known as daal, or dal) recipe is not only easy, but also inexpensive since dried pulses tend to be quite economical. Most if not all of the ingredients can be found in any pantry or spice rack and if not, then it’s good to have them just in case! Dhals are wonderfully aromatic and full of warm flavours that even non-veggie will appreciate and enjoy. I don’t mind spicy food but other members of my household don’t so I tend to make food mild, however you can adapt this if you like your food spicy and add a green chilli sliced in half to the yellow split peas while they are cooking. This makes a great meal that all members of the family can enjoy.
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Pin recipe Ingredients
- 250 g yellow split peas
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 750 ml of water
- 1 green chilli or dried cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp of fresh ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon or 1 stick
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
- 1½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 200 g tinned tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp chopped coriander
- 9 oz yellow split peas
- 1 large onion
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 cups of water
- 1 dried cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp of fresh ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon or 1 stick
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
- 1½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 7 oz tinned tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp chopped coriander
Instructions
- Wash the split peas in a sieve under the tap and add to a large pan with 600 ml (about 2½ cups) of water (preferably from a recently boiled kettle). Add the turmeric, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and half the ginger cut into slices.
- Cover, bring to a medium simmer and cook for 45 minutes until the yellow split peas are soft but still have some bite to them. In the meantime you can proceed to make the sauce which is the base of flavour for the dhal.
- Finely dice the onion, garlic and the rest of the ginger until they are ready to use.
- In another pan heat up the sunflower oil until it is quite hot and add the cumin seeds and fennel seeds. These will start sizzling and as soon as you can smell the cumin (about 30 seconds) it is time to add the onions and stir them in. Reduce the heat to a medium heat.
- Cook the onions until they are translucent, add the garlic and the rest of the ginger and cook for a few more minutes until these are soft.
- Add the tinned tomato sauce and half a cup of water to loosen the sauce. Stir and mix well.
- Add the garam masala and ground coriander and stir.
- Allow to simmer gently stirring occasionally for 15 minutes or so so all the flavours combine well.
- Once the sauce and yellow split peas are ready, add the sauce to the pan with the yellow split peas and mix well.
- Add a good pinch of salt to taste and the chopped coriander.
- Simmer gently for another few minutes.
- Serve with rice and garnish with some more fresh chopped coriander.
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4.33 from 9 reviews
Really simple and delicious. Thanks!