Priya’s Dal
If you’re not already familiar with Priya Krishna, let’s change that right now. Food reporter, cookbook author, and someone that seems like an all around delightful and smart person. Please check her out as her NYT content is spectacular.
At year’s end I like to reflect and think about a recipe I hadn’t made before and loved or something that was cooked more often than other recipes in the year. This one covers both. 2023 brought an immense amount of change for me. Good change but stressful and busy regardless. So, there were many nights where I needed something quick, easy, and nutritious. I’d had her cookbook Indian-ish for a while and love dal so I’m not sure why I didn’t get to making it sooner. I made up for that this year and for many months it became a weekly staple. It helped significantly that it’s a really comforting dish and felt soothing in a hectic time. Paired with a playlist of my favorite songs of 2023.
Priya’s Dal
Serves 4
1 cup whole masoor dal (also known as red lentils)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (roughly 1 lime)
2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 dried red chiles
Pinch of red chile powder
Pinch of asafetida
- In a pressure cooker, combine the dal/lentils, bay leaf, turmeric, salt and 3 cups of water
- Cook on manual high pressure for 20 minutes and allow for pressure to release naturally
- Add the lime juice
- Make the chhonk (the seasoning added after dal has cooked) by heating the ghee or olive oil in a small pan over medium high heat
- Once the ghee/olive oil is warm, add the cumin, red chiles, red chile powder, and asafetida and immediately take off the heat
- Add the chhonk to the dal and mix together
- Serve with rice