Andy Cooks Slow Cooker Dal Tadka

Source video by Andy Cooks on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

Split yellow toor dal cooks low and slow with water, salt and turmeric until soft but not dry. Meanwhile, a base of ghee, cumin and coriander seeds, cloves, garlic, ginger, red onion, green chilli and tomato is built on the hob and seasoned with Kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala and ground coriander. The cooked dal joins the base for a long final simmer. Just before serving, two flourishes: a tarka of ghee infused with dried chillies, coriander powder and chilli powder is poured on top, and the optional dunga method, a piece of red-hot charcoal in a metal dish, drizzled with melted ghee and sealed under a lid for 5 minutes, adds the real smokiness. Serve with garlic naan.

Ingredients

• 200 gtoor dal (split yellow pigeon peas), rinsed
• water, to cover the lentils by about 2.5 cm (1 inch)
• fine salt, a big pinch
• 0.25 tspground turmeric

• ghee (add late)
• cumin seeds (add late)
• coriander seeds (add late)
• whole cloves (add late)
• 3 clovesgarlic cloves, grated on a microplane (add late)
• fresh ginger, thumb-sized piece, peeled and grated (add late)
• 1 onionred onion, finely diced (add late)
• 2 chilliesgreen chillies, chopped (add late)
• 2 tomatoestomatoes, diced (add late)
• Kashmiri chilli powder (add late)
• garam masala (add late)
• ground coriander (add late)

• ghee, melted in the smallest pan you have (add late)
• dried red chillies, infused in the hot ghee (add late)
• ground coriander (add late)
• chilli powder, added in the last second for colour (add late)

• lump of charcoal, heated over an open flame until red (add late)
• melted ghee for smoke, drizzled over the hot charcoal in a small metal dish placed on top of the dal (add late)

• fresh coriander, chopped (add late)

Method

1. Rinse the toor dal. Tip into the slow cooker with the big pinch of salt and the quarter teaspoon of turmeric, then cover with water by about 2.5 cm (1 inch).

   ~3 min

2. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 4 hours, until the lentils are soft but still a little watery, the texture Andy is after.

   ~360 min

3. In a fresh pan with a lid, heat the ghee on medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and a few cloves and let them toast briefly.

   ~1 min

4. Add the grated garlic and ginger and saute on a low heat until fragrant, adding a splash more ghee if it looks dry.

   ~2 min

5. Add the diced red onion, green chillies and tomatoes. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes until the tomatoes break down, adding a splash of water if they dry out before they soften.

   ~6 min

6. Stir in the Kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala and ground coriander.

   ~1 min

7. Tip the cooked dal into the masala pan and stir through (or tip the masala into the slow cooker and stir there). Simmer on low for 30 minutes, splashing in water if it looks dry.

   ~30 min

8. For the tarka: in the smallest pan you have, melt ghee, drop in the dried chillies and a little ground coriander, and at the last second the chilli powder. Pour straight over the finished dal.

   ~2 min

9. Optional dunga finish: sit a small metal dish on top of the dal in the pan, drop in a piece of red-hot charcoal, drizzle melted ghee over the charcoal, slam the lid on and leave 5 minutes for the smoke to do its work.

   ~5 min

10. Lift the charcoal and dish out, stir through, scatter with chopped fresh coriander and serve with garlic naan.

    ~1 min

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