Dhal – the Pakistani recipe for yellow lentils

This is a classic recipe for preparing dhal and it is very easy to make. Simply serve dhal as a side dish to complement the main Pakistani dishes, or even with rice for a vegetarian meal.

Ingredients:

1 cup of mung dhal, either the yellow or red variety of dried lentils

2 cups of water

1 teaspoon of turmeric

3 cloves of fresh garlic, nicely peeled and chopped

2 large onions, nicely peeled and finely sliced lengthwise forming paper thin slivers

¼ teaspoon of ground red pepper, to taste

1 ½ teaspoons of salt

¼ cup of ghee or melted butter or even some light oil

2 teaspoons of cumin seeds

2 teaspoons of ground coriander

4 teaspoons of fresh cilantro leaves, nicely chopped

Preparation:

1. Pick through your dried lentils very carefully and remove any dirt or small stones before washing them under running cold water using a sieve. Then drain them and place them in a pot along with the water, turmeric, garlic, red pepper, ground coriander and salt. Bring it to a boil with high heat and then cover the pot partially and reduce the heat to low, allowing it so simmer for about 30 minutes.

2. This is a very important step, so pay attention. While your lentils are left to simmer, heat a skillet of about 10 inches with either ghee/butter/oil until a droplet of water, flicked into your pan, makes a sputter on contact. Be careful that this is not burnt as the flavour depends highly on the success of this step.

3. When your pan is hot, pour in the onions and cumin seeds before reducing the heat to medium. Remember to stir often for about 6 – 8 minutes. Set the dish aside after it is done.

4. When you are confident that the lentils are ready, mix it with the onion based seasoning and top it with your chopped cilantro leaves. Serve the dish with rice.