Everyday Yellow Dal

This was not one of my most organized cooking experiences. Seamus and I have moved to an area where Trader Joe's is the nearest grocery store, so while we were shopping, I couldn't find yellow split peas. I decided to substitute with yellow lentils instead. I was flustered by this substitution at first (for some reason this small substitution made me think I need to change everything about the dish), but eventually got everything together in order to make a good dish.

For the lentil substitution, follow the directions for cooking the lentils on the package rather than following the directions as they are listed below. It turned out great, and made me wonder why I don't eat lentils more often!

Everyday Yellow Dal

Courtesy of "5 Spices, 50 Dishes" by Ruta Kahate

Ingredients
1 cup yellow split peas, soaked in cold water for 1 hour
3 cups water
1 large tomato cut into 8 wedges
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
5 large cloves of garlic, 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 butter
1 teaspoon salt

Drain the split peas and place in a large saucepan. Add the fresh water and tomato and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the peas are tender, 45 minutes- 1 hour. Pick out any tomato skins and whisk the dal to emulsify it. Keep warm over low heat.

Make the tadka: Heat the oil in a medium skillet over high heat. When the oil beings to smoke, add the cumin seeds, covering the pan with a lid or spatter screen. After the seeds have stopped sputtering, add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until most of the onion has turned dark brown, about 5 minutes. Add the coriander, turmeric, and cayenne, stir, and pour the onion mixture over the dal. Add the cilantro, butter, and salt to the dal and simmer for another 5 minutes. serve hot.