Indian Dal

I loooooove eating dal at Indian restaurants.  When we lived in Hot Springs, AR, there were no Indian restaurants in town, so I decided to teach myself to cook some of it.  This recipe is a sort of mash-up of advice I received for Indian cooking in general and various recipes I found for dal, especially the Dal Makhani recipe from Madhu Gadia's great cookbook New Indian Home Cooking, which is what I used to learn about cooking Indian food in Hot Springs.  Serve this with basmati rice and a side of spinach...and some garlic naan, if you can find it at your market.  I'm making dal for dinner tonight!

1/2 c. urad dal (Don't panic!  You can order this online, which is what I did in Hot Springs, or you can try your local international market.  If you can't find it, increase the amount of dried black-eyed peas and dried kidney beans to 1/2 c. each.  It'll still work!)
1/2 c. lentils
1/4 c. dry black-eyed peas
1/4 c. dry kidney beans
2 t. salt
1 t. turmeric
2 T. fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 T. canola oil
1 t. cumin seeds
2 small onions, chopped
1 T. ground coriander
1 t. garam masala (either make this homemade from a recipe you find yourself, or buy it premade at the store.  I've seen a McCormick garam masala, but I can't always find it.  However, I find giant jars of it for very cheap at the international market here.)
1/2 - 1 t. cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cans chopped tomatoes (I like to use petite-diced.  Of course, you can use fresh tomatoes, too.  Canned is just so convenient.)
fresh cilantro (optional)
cooked basmati rice, to serve with the dal


Clean all the dried legumes of any foreign material and rinse it in 2-3 changes of water.  Add the salt, turmeric, and ginger to the legumes in a large stock pot and cover well with water.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer 3 - 3.5 hours until the beans and water have melted together to form a creamy consistency.  (I've even been known to get at the legumes with a potato masher to speed this up.)  Add water as the legumes are cooking if the mixture gets too thick.


(Don't forget to start your rice!)  Heat the oil in a medium-sized nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the cumin seeds and brown until golden, just a few seconds.  Add the onion and sauté until transluscent.  Remove from heat.


Add the onion mixture, tomatoes, garam masala, coriander, and cayenne pepper to the legume mixture.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat back to a simmer.  Cook for 10-15 minutes, or to desired consistency.  Serve over rice and garnish with fresh cilantro, if using.