Everyday Yellow Dal

Another Smitten Kitchen delight: yellow dal. I'd already made the black eyed pea curry on this page, and went back for more with this recipe. I also made the quick cabbage slaw on this page, but neglected to photograph it. Also good stuff, though I hate working with hot peppers -- as hard as I try, I always get it on my fingers and eventually in my eyes. Grrr. I need special cooking gloves, perhaps?

Everyday Yellow Dal

Serves 4

1 cup yellow split peas, soaked in cold water for 1 hour
1 large tomato (about 8 ounces), cut into 8 wedges
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 medium red onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
5 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, finely ground
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup minced cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions: Drain the dal (split peas) and place in a large saucepan. Add the tomato and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until peas are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Pick out any tomato skins (this was tedious and I chose not to do it -- not a problem) and whisk dal to emulsify it. Keep warm over very low heat.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add the cumin seeds, covering the pan with a lid or splatter screen. After the seeds have stopped sputtering, add the onion and saute over medium heat. About 3 minutes later, add the garlic and saute until most of the onion has turned dark brown, about 5 minutes altogether.

Add the coriander, turmeric and cayenne, stir and pour mixture over the dal. Add the cilantro, butter and salt to the dal and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve hot.

It turned out soupier than I expected -- maybe I cooked my peas too long? -- but delicious nonetheless, served with some brown rice to help sop up the liquidy broth.