Southern Style Dal

Ingredients

• 1 cup mung dal, split yellow
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon Urad Dal, split white
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
• 5 dried red chilies, broken into 3-4 pieces
• 1/8 teaspoon hing
• 10 curry leaves (optional)
• salt

Directions

1. 1

   Rinse the dal (lentils). Place in a medium-size saucepan with the turmeric and water.

2. 2

   Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook until the lentils have dissolved and the mixture is smooth, adding more water if needed. This will probably take at least 45 minutes.

3. 3

   When you add turmeric, the water has a tendency to boil over more easily, so you might want to wait and add the turmeric about 25 minutes after you have started cooking the lentils.

4. 4

   When done cooking the dal, add salt to taste. Remove from heat.

5. 5

   In a small saucepan or frying pan put the oil, urad dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dried red chilie pieces. Heat over medium-high heat until the mustard seeds have started popping AND the dal (lentils) are light brown.

6. 6

   Quickly stir in the hing and curry leaves and then pour the spices into the dal. Mix well. Check for salt.

7. 7

   Variations: 1-2 diced tomatoes can be added either half way through cooking or stirred in at the very end (if you don't want the tomato to be cooked very much). One or two large handfuls of chopped spinach can also be added near the end. You may also garnish the dal with chopped fresh cilantro. This dal can also be made with toor dal, but toor dal takes longer to cook, so adjust the cooking time.