Who does not like dal? There is probably someone but I think most people do. Dal is very forgiving so it’s hard to go wrong with it. My favourite is made with split red lentils.
Chop some red onions finely and cook them in some olive oil until they soften under a gentle heat. Add a good handful of dal or more depending on how much you want to make. Mix well with the onions and oil for about a minute. Then add some ground cumin, cayenne—if you want something more spicy use chilli flakes, thinly sliced fresh garlic. It’s your dal—you decide what you want it to taste like. Cook this mixture for a couple of minutes—under a gentle heat.
Then add enough water to cover the lentils and onions generously. Cover the pan and turn the heat up. Continue until the lentils start to soften—you might need to add more water. Add enough to keep the mixture liquid. The lentils will continue to soften and become mushy. Add some salt at this stage. Taste the dal and check you’re happy with the flavour. Flavour wise you could leave it here and this would be a good dal but I think you could make it even better. Add some turmeric and black pepper. Mix and continue cooking—add more water if needed. The dal should now look more soup like. It’s very hard to over cook a dal.
For the last five to ten minutes of cooking add some coconut milk and chopped courgettes. Cook until almost done and then add some chopped chard. Cook until the chard has wilted enough. Finally, check the flavour and add more coconut milk, salt, cayenne or chilli flakes. It is difficult to over cook dal unless you let all the water evaporate.
Your dal is now ready to serve with a flat bread or some salad.
If you don’t like coconut milk leave it out. The same goes for the vegetables—leave them out or use something else. You could use sweet potatoes, squash, parsnips, broccoli, kale, spinach, peas, tomatoes. Remember to add the vegetable at the right time so that it cooks but does not over cook.
Experiment—a dal can be whatever you want it to be. The same goes for the spices. Leave out and or replace anything you don’t like. I sometimes add cinnamon sticks when I use sweet potatoes.