South Indian Lentils with Curry Leaves

This week has been a slow cooker week at this Patel household. My husband’s cousin recently gave me a slow cooker recipe book called The Indian Slow Cooker by Anupy Singla, and I have been trying recipes from it. While the recipes are quite tasty, I think the proportions are completely off. Either this book has made some severe misprints or Ms. Anupy Singla eats a spice level beyond anything I've imagined. I should point out that we don’t eat our everyday food at the absolute top of our spice tolerance, and I feel, and was told by the above-mentioned cousin, that the proportions of the spices in the dishes they tried made it too spicy to eat at all. So, here is a masoor recipe in which I have adjusted/ halved the quantity of spices. It turned out very nicely, and I will be making it again.

To make it easier to follow, I've changed around the language, but the gist is the same as the book. The word Tadka means a sort of garnish. It entails a few spices being fried in a little oil till it is fragrant, and then mixing it into the dish at the very end, enhancing the flavors of the spices that were already in the dish.

South Indian Lentils with Curry Leaves

For Dal

3 cups, masoor, soaked for at least 20 minutes

1 onion, chopped

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 Chili, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

9 cups water

1 can coconut milk

For Tadka

2 tbsp oil

2 tsp cumin seed

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 small onion, finely chopped

15-20 curry leaves

Cook the lentils, chopped onion, tomatoes, green chilies, cumin and coriander powders, turmeric powder, salt and water (everything in the ‘For Dal’ list, except the coconut milk) in a slow cooker on low for 5 ½ hours. Then add the coconut milk, and cook for another ½ hour on low.

Once it’s cooked, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a small saucepan, fry the curry leaves, and set aside. Heat the remaining oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds, cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly, then add the onion and fry till light brown. When it’s done, mix it into the masoor in the slow cooker and serve (or keep on warm till ready to eat). Serve hot with plain rice.