Looking for a good dhal recipe...

Arundel Pajo · Post by **Arundel Pajo** » January 11, 2004, 8:14 pm

Dhal is a dish that has many fond memories for me. My grandfather was born and raised in Pakistan, the son of American charity workers overseas. He was raised there until he was 20, and then went back there to live again during his military career.

Anyway, when I was growing up, he was good friends with the owners of a nearby Pakistani restaurant. We used to eat there all the time, and I would sit there and listen to my grandpa talk to the owners in Farsi. One of the dishes that I really liked was dhal - an Indian curried lentil dish.

I have since tried several recipes for dhal, looking for one that tastes like what I had when I was younger. It was rich, flavorlful...tasted like it had lots of garlic in it. It was made with red lentils, and had a yellow-orange color to it. It had a thick layer of butter on top. It was not spicy hot, but it was by no means bland. It had no added vegetables except maybe onion - it was not a spinach or tomato dhal.

None of the recipes I have tried have come close. I have tried dry-roasting my spices, making my own ghee, all sorts of things.

I was curious if anybody on the board had any tips for a good dhal?

There was another dish, served the same way as dhal (you dip your naan in it), and it was about the same consistency - but it had ground meat in it. For the life of me, I can't remember the name of this dish. Any ideas here, too, would be helpful.

Thanks!

Arundel Pajo · Post by **Arundel Pajo** » February 10, 2004, 2:32 pm

I have tried several recipes at home to not much avail. They would all make very tasty dhals, but missed the mark regarding my elusive childhood treat.

Finally, I have gotten close. Very close. I found a recipe for a tarka masoor dhal that looked similar. I modified it some, because I distinctly remember lots and lots of garlic. I'm still playing with the seasonings on this, but give it a try. It's pretty damn good as is:

Tarka Masoor Dhal
<ul><li>1 cup red lentils, washed thoroughly
<li>4 cups cold water
<li>1/4 to 1/2 tsp turmeric
<li>1.5 tsp whole cumin seeds
<li>2 tbsp ghee
<li>pinch of hing (aka: asafoetida powder - optional)
<li>1/2 tsp or so whole mustard seed
<li>4 cloves garlic, minced and crushed
<li>1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
<li>salt</ul>
Bring the lentils, water, and turmeric to a boil over med-high heat. Drop the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are soft enough to eat, but not mushy. They should retain orange color and have a just-slightly firm consistency. When the lentils are done, drain them, and salt them thorougly to taste. Return them to the pot, cover, and set aside.

In a small skillet heat ghee until hot. When it is quite hot, add all of the remaining spices. Stir around and let spices sizzle for about 10-20 seconds. Do not let garlic burn. When ghee is thoroughly infused with spices, pour the entire contents of the skillet over your lentils. Cover the pot again, and let sit and steam for 10 minutes to infuse the flavor into the lentils.

Stir, and serve.