Dal tadka

Dal/lentil or pulses are the part of human diet since aceramic (before pottery). Archaeological evidence shows that they were the first domesticated crop near east and were eaten 9300 to 13000 years ago. They are rich in protein and are found in many forms and colour. Some of the common ones which are part of daily life are moong, uradh, arhar/toor, masoor and Channa. Dal tadka is basically any dal with tadka. One may find this name in every restaurants menu card. Mostly yellow dal is used in making this ie arhar or Channa or one may also use a mixture of 2-3 dals. Though my favourite is arhar dal and i use this one quite often as it gets ready in no time abd also because of its taste. So the procedure of making every dal is same only the time of cooking varies depending on the type of dal selected. For toor/arhar dal hardly any soaking is required and if one is using a pressure cooker it gets ready in 1 whistle only. Dal is staple in our diet and it is prepared at least once in during any one of the meals, so not writing a blog for this one would have been quite injustice.

So lets look at the ingredients used in its preparation:- 

Dal Tadka

1. Arhar dal 1 cup
2. Water 2 cups
3. Cumin/jeera seeds 1 tbsp
4. Onion finely chopped 1
5. Tomato chopped 1
6. Ginger/garlic paste 1 tbsp
7. Turmeric powder 1 tbsp
8. Asafoetida a pinch
9. Salt to taste
10. Garam masala 1/2 tbsp
11. Ghee 2 tbsp
12. Red or green chilli 1-2
13. Fresh coriander leaf

First of all take arhar dal and rinse it thoroughly in fresh water. After washing put it in the pressure cooker and pour water, close the lid and wait till it is boiled properly. if one does not have pressure cooker then any utensil can be used but cover it so the time of cooking gets minimised.

Once the dal is cooked, then comes the time for tadka which is the main step in adding flavour. For this take kadhai/pan add ghee and once it is hot add cumin/jeera seeds

After they start cracking add onion, ginger/garlic paste and asafoetida. Saute the till they become golden brown in colour. 

Then add red whole chilli or green chilli, i used a red one coz i like it, as it looks very pleasing floating in the yellow dal, but its entirely once choice. One may also add chili powder if they like to eat more spicy.

Then add tomatoes, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt. Mix them properly till they incorporate well.

After the masala is ready add the dal in it and cook it till one boil, garnish it with fresh coriander leafs and its ready to serve.

It goes well with rice, chapati or nan and taste best when eaten warm. So enjoy the recipe and stay healthy.