Tarka Daal

As mentioned in my previous post, the 'Tarka' bit is the spices cooked in a different pan and added to the cooked lentils later.  It always makes me think of the daft joke about the man who was ordering curry who asked the waiter what a 'Chicken Tarka' was; and who got the reply that "it's like an Chicken Tikka but just a little 'otter" ........Sorry.......if you 'get it' then feel free to groan, if you don't get it then feel free to feel bewildered.

My version of Tarka Daal is a kind of mixed up amalgamation of recipes and what I find works for me.  It's fairly quick to make and doesn't involve much chopping up of different ingredients, but you will need a large-ish saucepan and a frying pan.  As usual I find it hard to give quantities for this recipe but will have try, I usually make a Huge Saucepan Full of Daal and freeze some of it.... incidentally I am starting to notice that 'A Huge Saucepan Full' is a fairly common unit of cooking for me.

I'm sure the recipe and method below are not authentic but it works for me as a wonderful comfort food which is relatively healthy and actually quite good for you - which unfortunately you cannot really cannot say about a bowl full of chocolate.

 

Tarka Daal

• take a sieve full of red lentils and rinse them under the tap for a really long time, until the water coming out of the bottom of the sieve is not cloudy (or not very cloudy)  - this will take much longer than you think so use the opportunity to also pick out any small stones or chaff that are in with the lentils as you rinse them.
• do exactly the same with a sieve full of Chana Dal
• put both sets of lentils into a big saucepan with 2 pints of cold water (or more if this doesn't cover the lentils) - you can always add more if it is necessary later
• take 2 ordinary tomatoes and score the skin around it's Equator and from North to South pole and back again
• put the tomatoes into the saucepan with the lentils plus a tablespoon of turmeric and a little salt.
• put over the heat and bring to the boil, once bubbling skim off the worst of the yellowy scum with a slotted spoon  and turn the heat down and allow to bubble away quietly for 40-50 minutes
• regularly check the lentils to ensure they do not boil dry (yeuch, burnt lentils!) and add water if it looks like it needs to be more liquid
• while the lentils are cooking, finely dice an onion and slice about 8 cloves of garlic and grate a further 5 cloves of garlic with a micro plane grater if you have one (or nutmeg grater or garlic crusher would do) but keep this to one side
• add the onion and slices garlic to a frying pan with a good amount of olive oil and about 3 tablespoons of ground cumin and 1 tablespoon of whole cumin and one whole dried chili if you have one
• also add to the pan a teaspoon of each of the following if you have any of them
• garam masala
• mild curry powder
• ground ginger
• ground coriander seed
• turmeric
• then put the frying pan over the heat and gently fry the spices and the onion until the onion is softened, for about 20-30 minutes, adding more oil if needed to keep it liquid
•  once the lentils are cooked squash the tomatoes into the mixture with the back of a wooden spoon and fish out the tomato skin which will probably be bobbing about in the saucepan
• give the lentils a really good stir to help them break down and the tomatoes to mix in and to give the mixture a chance to thicken up (again, if it's too thick, add more water)
• then tip the lovely cooked mixture of onion, oil and garlic (minus the chili if you put one in) into the lentils - make sure you get all the cooked spices off the bottom of the pan
• then add the grated/crushed raw garlic and mix the whole mixture and then check for seasoning
• if needed add some salt to taste (I like loads but try to not add too much)
• serve to your desired liquidity over rice and or with Naan bread 
• freeze what you don't eat in portions ready for heating up another day