Maash Ki Daal - Urad Lentils
A delicious, creamy daal cooked in a typical onion and tomato masala and served with lashings of butter
Servings: 5
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Ingredients
To boil the lentils
- 1 cup (200 g) raw urad lentils (maash ki daal, washed and ideally soaked for an hour before cooking)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the masala base
- ⅓ cup (83 ⅓ ml) oil
- 1 (110 g) medium onion, finely diced
- 2 (180 g) small tomatoes, finely diced
- 1 ½ tablespoon garlic, minced about 5 cloves
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon paprika Kashmiri red chilli powder or deghi mirch (for colour, optional)
- optional garnishes: chopped fresh coriander, chopped green chillies, slivers of ginger, dried red chilli flakes.
Instructions
- Boil the urid lentils in an ample amount of water alongside salt and turmeric till al dente (almost cooked through, with a bit of a bite left) - about 25-30 minutes. Once done, drain and set aside. You can go on to making the onion and tomato masala whilst the lentils are boiling.
- In a separate pan, heat the oil and add the onions. Sauté this on high heat till they begin to turn lightly golden, stopping well before they turn a dark shade - about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, the ginger and garlic all the spices including the cumin seeds and a few splashes of water. Sauté this very well, stirring constantly to help break down the tomatoes. The mixture will become thick and jammy. This may take up to 15 minutes and if the tomatoes are not breaking down well, you may need to add some additional water to continue cooking and breaking down the tomato.
- Once the masala has been prepared, add in the cooked urid lentils, the green chilli and ⅔ cup/160ml of water. Bring to a boil and then cook covered with a lid on low for about 10 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
- To finish, garnish with any or all of the following: freshly chopped coriander, slivers of ginger, chopped green chilli and chilli flakes.
Notes
You can also serve this with a knob of butter stirred in just before serving.
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