Name: Yellow Split and Pigeon Peas with Onion and Garlic (Chana Toor Dal Fry)
Yield: Makes 4 cups
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: ¼ cup Ghee or melted unsalted butter; 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds; 1 medium-size red onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced; 8 medium-size cloves garlic, finely chopped; 2 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, stems removed, cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices (do not remove the seeds); 2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground; ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, ground; 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems; 1 large tomato, cored and cut into ½-inch cubes; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; ½ cup oily or unoily skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal), picked over for stones; ½ cup yellow split peas (chana dal), picked over for stones

Preparation info

Makes
4 cups

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

Even though these are quick-cooking legumes and you really don’t need a pressure cooker, I like to use it in order to cook them to a creamy-smooth consistency, with some of the split peas still firm-looking. There’s a pleasant textural difference between the sweet, lightly browned onion slices and the pieces of burning chile. I serve this curry with wedges of lime for a fresh tang, especially if the tomatoes are not at their juiciest best.