Lentils

I could very nearly live on lentils. Full of protein and nutrients, lentils are pretty much perfect, in my humble opinion.

Several important things to note about this recipe:

Frying the spices is really a crucial step. It sounds weird, but it helps to release the natural oils and enhances the flavors.

Caramelizing the onions, while time consuming, is worth it. You want the onions to add a nice mellow sweetness and melt into the lentils; they won’t do this if they’re only lightly cooked. You can also caramelize the onions ahead of time.

Finally, you really must use red lentils instead of the brown lentils you typically find in the store. Red lentils are simply brown lentils with the hulls stripped off so that they cook faster and are a lovely yellow color when cooked. You can find them in bulk at most natural food stores or co-ops, or Goya sells them packaged as well.

So, without further ado:

Red Lentil Dal

1/2 medium onion, very thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. olive oil or ghee (clarified butter)
1 cup red lentils
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock, depending on if you want to keep this vegetarian
1 cup water
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
Salt to taste

1. Caramelize the onion in a saucepan on medium low heat with about half the oil. This will take a while, but is totally worth it. I promise.

2. Once the onions are caramelized, add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, or about 30 seconds.

3. Push the onions/garlic into a corner of the saucepan. Place the rest of the oil (and for this part you will actually need oil rather than ghee) in the saucepan such that it doesn’t touch the onions. Fry the curry powder and garam masala in the oil for 30 to 60 seconds.

4. Mix the onions with the spices. Add about 1/2 cup of stock to the saucepan and deglaze the pan. Mix in the tomato paste.

5. Add the lentils, the rest of the stock, and the water. If you want to increase the amount of lentils you cook, remember that lentils should be cooked with about a 1:3 ratio of lentils to liquid.

6. Bring to a simmer, cover, & let it cook for about 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender.

Feel free to add cayenne or other kinds of chili to this recipe. I have also found in the past that cooking a small amount of bacon with the onions adds a nice flavor.

This recipe takes a bit of time, but is definitely worth the wait. Enjoy!