Basic Dahl

I recently got my hands on Priya Krishna’s new (and first) cookbook: Indian-ish. If you have ever wanted to try your hand at cooking Indian food, or are just looking for new, interesting, mostly vegetarian dishes, this is a great cookbook. Krishna was born in Texas, in an Indian-American family. She is a writer for Bon Appetite and decided to write a cookbook with her mother, including all of their family favourites. The book is hilarious, descriptive, full of soul, and also includes delicious, easy to follow recipes that can generally be made in under 30 minutes.

While I have obviously heard of dahl and ordered it as take-out on occasion, I did not realize how easy and deeply satisfying it was. This is India’s answer to chicken soup. It warms the body and the soul, which is something we could use more of these days. Bonus- its made from pantry staples!

Krishna speaks in her book about “chhonk”, spices that have been infused in fat and added to the dish at the end to increase its flavour. Typically, this is made with ghee, the fat of choice in Indian cooking. However, you could also use olive oil or another neutral fat instead.

For those of you unfamiliar, ghee is a type of clarified butter. By removing the milk fat from butter, ghee or clarified butter can be cooked at high temperatures without browning and can be kept much longer without spoiling. If you don’t have access to ghee or just want to make your own, heat butter on the stove or in the microwave until melted. Let it sit for a few minutes and you will see the yellow liquid at the top, and white milk solids will settle at the bottom. Pour the top layer through a strainer, leaving behind the milk solids.

Basic Dahl

Loosely adapted from Priya Krishna, Indian-ish

Serves 4

1 cup brown or green lentils
4 cups water
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp ghee or olive oil (see note)
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp red chili powder
2 dried red chilis

In a medium or large saucepan, bring the lentils, water, tumeric and salt to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but still intact. The dish will still be a bit ‘runny’; like a thick soup. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan warm the the ghee or olive oil (see note above). Once the ghee is melted, add the cumin seeds and cook until they start to sizzle and brown, a few seconds. Immediately remove from the heat and add in the chili powder and dried chilis. Add the “chhonk” to the cooked lentils, straining if desired.

Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro and serve over basmati rice or with naan bread.