Cashew Dal

Recipe: French Lentils With Cashews Time: About an hour

2 tablespoons butter or peanut oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon curry powder or garam masala

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 cup chopped cashews

1/2 cup dried French green (Le Puy) lentils, washed and picked over

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup yogurt for garnish

1/4 cup chopped parsley for garnish.

1. Put butter in a large pot over medium heat until it is melted and foamy (or shimmering if using oil). Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in spice blend and keep stirring for a few seconds, until it becomes fragrant. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it darkens, another couple of minutes.

2. Add cashews and stir to coat them in onion mixture. Cook and stir just long enough for them to warm a bit. Add lentils and enough water to cover by about an inch.

3. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium-low so mixture bubbles gently. Cook, stirring until beans are soft, 20 to 30 minutes; add more water as needed to keep everything moist. When lentils are cooked to desired tenderness and mixture has thickened, stir in some salt and pepper, then taste and adjust seasoning. Serve, garnished with a dollop of yogurt and a little parsley.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

simple dal

Here is a recipe attempted from the Minimalist's old column. The link includes many more good recipes, so is worth reading on its own.

recipe:

Recipe: Lentils With Curried Tarka Time: 45 minutes

1 cup dried brown lentils, washed and picked over

2 1/2 cups water, coconut milk or vegetable stock, more if needed

4 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil

1 cup chopped scallions

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon curry powder

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped fresh cilantro leaves.

1. In a medium saucepan, combine lentils and liquid and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn heat down to medium-low so that mixture bubbles gently, cover partly and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are just tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Add liquid as necessary to keep them a little soupy.

2. Put butter in a skillet over medium heat until it is melted and foamy (or shimmering if using oil). Add scallions and lemon zest and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cook and stir for another minute or so. Add a large pinch of salt, some pepper and the cilantro leaves. Cook mixture (the tarka) for just another 30 seconds or so, then turn off heat.

3. When lentils are cooked to desired tenderness, stir scallion mixture into the lentils. Dal should be moist but not soupy; if it is not, add more water and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

In this attempt, I doubled the recipe and the cooking time (roughly). I also used 1/2 of a yellow union and some scallions. I added the curry powder late, and more salt. Good result! Lots of dal for the week.