I have made the acquaintance of a Brahmin caste Indian lady recently and she has schooled me in the art of the Tarka Dahl.
Here is my second effort.
My first effort was using red lentils. I think the green lentils work better as they retain their individual form after cooking. The red lentils turn to a kind of homogeneous slop. The greens also have a more earthy flavour.
Those were the first times I have ever cooked with lentils, the favourite food of Neil the long haired hippy from the Young Ones.
400g of lentils.
Boil for 7 minutes (red)/25 minutes (green)
While they are cooking fry up the following in a frying pan (yes I need to clean that frying pan!).
One chopped onion
A few cloves of garlic
3 or 4 tomatoes finely chopped
Knob of ginger finely chopped
4 chopped chillies
2 or 3 teaspoons of cumin
2 or 3 teaspoons of turmeric
2 or 3 teaspoons of garam masala
2 or 3 teaspoons of coriander
Serve with boiled rice and/or paratha roti. You can fry the roti in a pan although the instructions say oven or grill
My preferred curry beverage is milk.
You just cannot beat a good British curry!
Long live the Empire!