Just too much.
"You know I'll never cook that," Tina said. She says this to me every weekend when I give live cooking demos at Eastern Market. "No more than three ingredients," is her rule.
What is your rule, for say a Tuesday night dinner? Is it five ingredients or five steps? When do you decide a recipe turns into a project best reserved for weekends...or never?
I have learned over time that there are some recipes with lots of ingredients that don't actually require much work. This dal, for instance, requires very little knife prep for the number of ingredients included and, let's face it, with a little practice we can all eyeball a teaspoon or tablespoon of something or come pretty darn close to accurate cupping it in our palm.
Well, that takes care of that. but...
Red lentils cook quickly in under 20 minutes for this creamy, complex yet simple dish.
There is also the question of concerns about too many ingredients on the plate. You know those people who consider anything more than salt and pepper to be over-seasoned?
To be fair, they aren't going to like this dish. However, if the ingredient list below looks like it may deliver too complex a flavor, something that is going to take a lot of work to eat, never fear. This dal is comfort food all the way. The seasonings and the raita dolloped on top add up to the complexity of Gruyere and Parmesan added to the cheddar in your mac and cheese.
So dive in and make a batch. These ingredients aren't too much. They come together in a dish that is just right.
Tomato Dal
Serves 4
"Dal" is an Indian word for lentils. This fairly simple dal comes together quickly with easily accessible flavors.While there are a lot of ingredients here, there is very little work. It is topped with a yogurt raita. Think of it as a dollop of sour cream with a little more flavor.
For dal:
4 tbs ghee or butter
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs cumin seed, whole*
1 tbs mustard seed, whole
1 tbs coriander seed, whole
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 cups split red lentils**
1 14oz can tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 splash cider vinegar
*You can substitute 3 tbs of a pre-made curry spice blend for the cumin, mustard, coriander, turmeric and ginger.
**Red lentils cook quickly and get nice and creamy. If you substitute brown or green lentils add 2 additional cups of stock and plan on another 10-15 minutes of cooking time.
For raita:
1 cup plain yogurt
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 tbs chopped mint
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
Directions:
Strain yogurt: place in a strainer lined with cheese cloth or a paper towel for 30 minutes to drain. Discard liquid and reserve thickens yogurt for raita.
Make dal: melt butter in a 3 quart sauté pan (that's the straight sided one with a lid) over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until edges begin to brown. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and spices. Cook until mustard seeds begin to pop, or about 1 minute. Add lentils and cook, stirring occasionally, to toast, about 2 minutes longer.
Add tomatoes and stock. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and cover. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Break up softened tomatoes and stir together. If liquid has mostly evaporated add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes longer.
Make raita: While dal cooks mix together raita ingredients with strained yogurt. Season with a pinch of salt and let rest while flavors develop.
Remove lid from dal. If necessary let liquid reduce. You want a texture similar to oatmeal. Season to taste with a splash of vinegar and additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve topped with a healthy dollop of the raita.
