Name: Spicy Split Green Lentils with Chiles and Onion (Pyaaz Mirchi Moong Ki Dal)
Yield: Makes 4 cups
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems for garnishing; 1 cup skinned split green lentils (yellow in this form, moong dal), picked over for stones; 2 tablespoons Ghee or canola oil; ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 1 medium-size red onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced; 12 medium-size to large fresh curry leaves; ¼ teaspoon ground asafetida; 4 lengthwise slices fresh ginger (each 1½ inches long, 1 inch wide, and ⅛ inch thick), cut into thin matchsticks (julienne); 4 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, stems removed, sliced in half lengthwise (do not remove the seeds); 2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt

Preparation info

Makes
4 cups

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

Quick-cooking lentils like these come to my rescue whenever I am exhausted after a full day and neither pizza nor any other take-out turns my crank. A plate of quickly steamed long-grain white rice is perfect, along with a small stack of the Flame-Toasted Lentil Wafers more commonly known as papads or pappadums.