Latifs Inspired Slow Cooker Tarka Dhal

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

Washed red lentils are tipped into the slow cooker with water, turmeric, salt, ginger and garlic pastes, half an onion, a diced tomato, two bay leaves, three green chillies and a splash of oil, then cooked low until the lentils give up their shape and the mix has a custardy consistency. Just before serving, the second act: a separate tarka of mustard seeds, dried Kashmiri chillies, half an onion, garlic and ginger crackled in oil and ghee until caramelised, then poured straight onto the dal. Two-step, restaurant-style, plenty of garlic. Feeds two as a main, four as a side.

Ingredients

• 1 cupred lentils (masoor dal), washed thoroughly 3 to 4 times
• 4 cupswater
• 1 tspground turmeric
• 1 tspfine salt
• 1 heaped tspginger paste
• 1 heaped tspgarlic paste
• 1 tbspvegetable oil
• 2 leavesIndian bay leaves (tez patta)
• 3 chilliesgreen chillies, tips removed, left whole
• 1 tomatotomato, diced
• 0.5 oniononion (half), diced

• 1 tbsppure ghee (add late)
• 3 tbspvegetable oil (add late)
• 3 tspmustard seeds (add late)
• dried Kashmiri red chillies (add late)
• 0.5 oniononion (half), diced (add late)
• 2 heaped tspgarlic paste (add late)
• 1 tspginger paste (add late)
• 3 clovesfresh garlic cloves, crushed (add late)

Method

1. Wash the red lentils 3 to 4 times in cold water until the water runs clear.

   ~3 min

2. Tip the lentils into the slow cooker with 4 cups water, the turmeric, salt, ginger paste, garlic paste, oil, bay leaves, green chillies, diced tomato and half the diced onion.

   ~3 min

3. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, or on high for 3 hours, until the lentils are soft and the mix has Latif's 'custardy' big-bubble texture. Add a splash of water if it dries out before the end.

   ~300 min

4. Just before serving, make the tarka. Heat the ghee and 3 tbsp oil in a separate pan on medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle.

   ~1 min

5. Add the dried Kashmiri chillies, then the second half of the onion. Cook until the onion just starts to caramelise.

   ~5 min

6. Add the garlic paste, ginger paste and crushed fresh garlic to the pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the rawness goes and the mix is fragrant.

   ~4 min

7. Pour the hot tarka straight over the dal in the slow cooker. Scrape every last bit from the pan in. Stir through and serve immediately.

   ~1 min

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