Moses's Manchester Tarka Dhal
Moses's Manchester Tarka Dhal is an amazing recipe that is super healthy, very yummy but most importantly... it's easy to make. We always serve this with some brown rice, parathas or naan bread and it never fails to satisfy our family as one of our go-to meat-free meals. It freezes well so you can make a big pan and it's an excellent choice for January lunches as you can add more water and transform it into a soup.
Ingredients
- For the Tarka
- 2 white onions
- 4 cloves garlic Gem uses six
- 1 thumb size piece of ginger Gem uses an extra 'half thumb'
- 2 tsp cumin seed
- 1 tsp black mustard seed
- 2 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cardamon pods
- 6 cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- Good glug of olive oil to fry in
- For the Dhal:
- 500 g Red Lentils
- 2 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tsp asafoetida
- 5-6 fresh tomatoes
- fresh water
- handful of chopped coriander and two good size handfuls of fresh spinach optional
Instructions
- First, weigh out the lentils, cover in cold water allowing them to soak whilst you prepare ingredients below (soaking for roughly 20 mins)
- I like to put all my ingredients into individual bowls once weighed out and/or chopped:
- Peel and dice the onions, set aside
- Peel the garlic and leave whole, set aside
- Peel ginger and grate, set aside
- Dice tomatoes, set aside
- Mesure out your turmeric and asafoetida into a small dish, set aside
- Measure out all remaining spices for the Tarka; cumin, mustard seeds, chilli flakes, cinnamon stick, cardamon pods, cloves, bay leaves, salt and pepper
- In the video I forgot to add the salt and pepper - you see me add them before the spices go into the tarka
- Once all ingredients are prepared:
- Drain and rinse the lentils, running them under cold water for 2-3 minutes
- Add the lentils to a heavy-based pan fill and cover with cold water
- Put on the hob and bring to a boil
- As the lentils are coming to a boil you'll notice a white foam forming, try your best to scrape as much of this off as possible
- When the water begins to boil it is time to add your tomatoes, Tumeric and asafoetida
- Give the tomatoes and spices a good stir
- Pop the pan lid on allowing some of the steam to escape
- Set the timer for 60 mins and leave to bubble away on a low heat
- Keep on stirring 3-4 times over the next 50 mins
- I really like my Dhal to have a watery consistency so I add more water to it. to have a thicker consistency take the lid off, allowing the steam to fully escape.
- Whilst the dhal is cooking:
- Wash the spinach
- Chop the coriander
- As the timer reachers 50 mins, I begin to make the tarka:
- Cover a frying pan with olive oil (or oil of your choice) I am generous with the oil - allow the oil to warm
- Add the onions, and fry until they start to soften
- Add the ginger and crush in the garlic - stir well fry for a further 2 mintues
- Now for all the lovely spices, add and stir allow to fry for 4 minutes or so, allow the aroma of the spices to release.
- Once ready add the tarka to the dhal - I like to make sure all the oil goes in too
- Give a good stir and allow to bubble away for a good few minutes. Gem checks the seasoning at this point and we always feel it needs more salt
- Before serving add a handful of chopped coriander and two good handfuls of spinach to the pan and mix well!
- When serving sprinkle chopped coriander on top