House Dal

Serves: 4

Source: Buffé, 2014 issue 2

Ingredients:

  • 1 dl mung beans
  • 3 dl red lentils
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 red onion
  • 150 g butter
  • 3 tbsp finely-chopped fresh ginger
  • 1 ½ tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds
  • ½ tsp chili pepper or cayenne
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • salt

Instructions:

  1. Soak  the mung beans for 8 hours. Pour off the water and rinse.
  2. Rinse the red lentils, then bring to a boil in 1 litre water. Let them cook for 20 minutes. (The original recipe calls for 1.5 litres, so add more at the end if the dal is too thick.)
  3. Add the mung beans to the pot and let cook for another 15 minutes.
  4. Peel and chop the onion and garlic.
  5. Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the garlic, onion, ginger, cumin, fennel seeds, chili pepper and turmeric to the butter and fry, stirring.
  6. Add the butter mixture to the lentils and cook for another 10 minutes. Add 1 tsp salt or to taste.
  7. Serve with fresh paratha or naan bread.