One-Pot Tomato Dal

Comforting toor dal simmered with tomato and finished with a fragrant cumin, garlic and chilli tempering.

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This everyday dal cooks the lentils and tomato together, then adds a fresh tempering at the end. The texture should be creamy but still pour easily from a ladle.

Ingredients

• 300 g Toor dal (rinsed until the water is mostly clear)
• 1.2 litres Water (plus more to adjust)
• 4 medium Tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 small Onion (finely chopped)
• 15 g Ginger (finely grated)
• 1 Green chilli (slit; optional)
• 0.5 tsp Ground turmeric
• 1.5 tsp Fine salt (divided)
• 2 tbsp Ghee or neutral oil
• 1.5 tsp Cumin seeds
• 5 Garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
• 2 Dried red chillies (broken; optional)
• 1 pinch Asafoetida (optional)
• 0.25 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (optional)
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice (add to taste)
• 20 g Fresh coriander (chopped)

Step-by-step method

1. Put the rinsed toor dal in a heavy saucepan with 1.2 litres water, tomatoes, onion, ginger, optional green chilli and turmeric. Stir once and choose a pan with plenty of headroom because lentils foam as they boil.
2. Bring to a boil while watching the pan, skim any foam, then lower to a gentle simmer. Partly cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every 8 minutes, until the lentils collapse completely when pressed.
3. Remove the green chilli if you want a mild dal. Whisk vigorously for 1 minute to blend the softened tomato and lentils, or pulse briefly with a stick blender while the pan is off the heat.
4. Add 1 teaspoon salt and enough hot water to make a thick but pourable consistency. Return to low heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring along the base so the thickened dal does not stick.
5. For the tempering, heat ghee in a small pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add sliced garlic and cook until pale golden, not dark brown, about 60 to 90 seconds.
6. Add optional dried chillies and asafoetida for 15 seconds. Turn off the heat before adding optional chilli powder so it does not burn, then carefully pour the hot tempering over the dal; it may spit.
7. Stir in half the coriander. Taste and add the remaining salt and lemon juice gradually. If the dal tastes heavy, a little lemon usually improves it more than extra salt.
8. Rest covered for 5 minutes, then garnish with the remaining coriander and serve with rice or roti. Add water when reheating because dal thickens as it cools, and heat until steaming throughout.