Tarka dal
A northern Indian lentil curry simmered until it thickens to the consistency of porridge, then finished with spices sizzled in butter. Cheap, filling and largely hands-off.
- Prep
- 10 minutes
- Cook
- 45 minutes
- Makes
- 3 portions
- Difficulty
- Easy
In one portion
These are the figures for one medium portion. In Susten, each person at your table gets their own portion size.
To see how one portion fits your day, work out your daily calories and protein.
- Calories
- 661kcal
- Protein
- 25g
- Carbs
- 102g
- Fat
- 16g
Where the calories come from
- Protein 15%
- Carbs 63%
- Fat 22%
- Fibre
- 21.4 g
- Sugar
- 5 g
- Salt
- 0.02 g
What it costs at Tesco
Susten matches every ingredient to a Tesco product. Your shopping list names each one, with its price.
£1.49a portion
We base this on how much of each product the recipe uses. Half a pack costs half the price.
We last updated these Tesco prices on .
Ingredients
- 50g butter
- 2 green chillies, deseeded and cut into chunks
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 6g fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 3g fresh curry leaves
- 1 tomato, chopped
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 190g red lentils, rinsed
- 950ml water
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, for the tadka
- 1 shallot, halved lengthways and sliced, for the tarka
- 6g fresh coriander, sprigs
- 230g basmati rice, to serve
- ⅛ tsp garam masala
Method
Put the lentils in a sieve and rinse them under the cold tap until the water running off is clear. Drain.
Set a heavy pan over a high heat on the hob and melt two-thirds of the butter in it. Fry the chilli for 1 minute, until it begins to blister, then add the onion and let it soften.
Turn the heat down to medium and stir in the curry leaves with the garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute, until the garlic turns golden.
Tip in the tomato and ground cumin. Cook for about 2 minutes, until the tomato breaks down into a paste.
Stir in the turmeric, then the lentils and water, with a pinch of salt. Once it is simmering, cover and cook gently for 25 minutes, giving it a stir every so often so it does not catch.
Take the lid off for a final 10 minutes of simmering. Simmer until it is as thick as porridge but some lentils still hold their shape. Stir in the garam masala, then taste and season.
Now make the tarka. Melt the rest of the butter over a medium heat in a small frying pan, then stir the cumin seeds in it until they are lightly golden. Add the shallot, and once it is tinged gold, tip everything into the dal and stir it through.
Cook the rice separately: boil it in salted water until tender, then drain. Cook only the rice for the portions you're eating now, and cook it fresh when you eat the leftovers. Spoon the dal over and top with sprigs of coriander.
Adapted from RecipeTin Eats
