Tadka dal (Split lentils tempered with whole spices)

Dals  are a staple in Indian everyday meals .They are normally eaten as a side dish with rice and chapatis

and any main veg or non-veg dish of choice.There are various methods of making dals .This is one of them.

 

Note : Tempering  (Tadka) is a technique in which whole spices are flash fried in hot oil or ghee to release their flavors  .They are then added to the dal.The oil has to be hot before you add the spices .If you add the
 spices to cold oil and then heat both  together they will not give the desired effect

Ingredients :

1 cup toor dal

1 small red onion sliced

1 medium tomato chopped

1/2 inch ginger grated

1 whole green chili slit

1/2 tsp turmeric pwdr

1/2 tsp pepper pwdr

1 tsp coriander pwdr

5-6 curry leaves

Tempering spices :

1 tsp cumin seeds

1tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp white urad dal
3-4 cloves

Directions :
Wash and boil the dal with turmeric and salt till it is soft .Mash and keep aside.
In a seperate pot ,heat oil add mustard seeds,cumin seeds,cloves and urad dal to it.They'll immediately swell and crackle and turn light brown in around 10 seconds .Add curry leaves,whole green chili , onion and salt to taste .Cook till onion is transluscent .Add grated ginger and saute for 30 secs .Add the chopped tomato, coriander pwdr and pepper pwdr.Saute for 5 more mins then add the dal to this mixture.Add 1/2 cup water if it's too thick .Simmer on a medium flame for 2-3 mins .Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve with rice and other main dishes of your choice.