Name: Bangla Dal with a Hit of Lime
Yield: Makes about 4 Cups; Serves 4
Cuisine: Bangladesh
Ingredients: 5 cups water; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; 1 tablespoon minced garlic or garlic mashed to a paste; ½ teaspoon cayenne; ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste; ¼ cup vegetable oil or 2 tablespoons each vegetable oil and mustard oil; About ½ cup coriander sprigs (optional); 1½ cups thinly sliced onions; ½ teaspoon turmeric; Lime wedges; 1 cup masur dal, washed and drained; 1 heaping tablespoon tamarind pulp, chopped; ½ teaspoon ground coriander

Preparation info

Makes about 4 Cups ; Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Mangoes & Curry Leaves

By Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

Published 2005

About

The name of this Bangladeshi classic is tok dal, and it’s become one of our favorite versions of simple dal. Tok means “sour” in Bengali, sour from lime or green tomato or an acidic fruit or, as here, from tamarind.

Masur (red dal) is cooked until soft, then tempered with simmered onions, tamarind, and spices. The combination is given a fresh finish with a squeeze of lime juice from the lime wedges that are served alongside. We serve this often as part of a weeknight s