Name: Tarka Dal
Prep time: 6 min
Cook time: 14 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder; 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste; 1 teaspoon cumin coriander powder; 2 tablespoons oil; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro; Crushed red pepper flakes to garnish; 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 1 teaspoon mustard seeds; 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 3 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped; ¾ cup yellow split lentils (moong dal)

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
20 min

Appears in

Instant Indian

By Rinku Bhattacharya

Published 2018

About

Tarka Dal, if you understand the meaning, might sound like an oxymoron. Tarka, or the process of tempering with spices at the end of cooking, is what makes Indian lentils the magical soft pools of goodness that we all love. The process of making dal is incomplete without the tarka, so listing it in the name almost sounds redundant. But the Tarka Dal for the Punjabi table actually reverses this process, instead of finishing with the tarka we start with it, making this dish perfect for fix-an