Dal Tadka ( Lentils )

          Whenever we ordered naans at restaurants, we usually order some kind of dal and vegetable curry to go with it. When it comes to dal/lentils, my personal favorite is always dal tadka, I simply love the flavor of the tadka/seasoning, cumin and garlic seasoned in ghee gives an amzing flavor to this dish. I have used a combination of masoor dal/ red lentils and moong dal/husked green gram, again, masoor dal has a unique flavor, it's a very simple dish but extremely tasty with both rotis and rice..

Need To Have

• Masoor Dal/Red Lentil - 1/4 cup
• Moong Dal/Green Gram - 1/4 cup
• Onion - 1 small, chopped
• Tomato - 1 small, chopped
• Green Chilly - 1 slit
• Ginger - 1" piece, grated
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Kasuri Methi - 1 tablespoon
• Dried Red Chillies - 2
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Garlic - 4 cloves, chopped
• Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
• Chopped Coriander to garnish
• Salt to taste

Original recipe here, I have used moong dal instead of tuvar dal.

Method

           Wash the dals and pressure cook them along with the onion, tomato,green chilly, grated ginger, turmeric powder and enough water. I have used a pressure pan to cook, so after 1 whistle, reduce the heat and cook for 6 to 7 minutes and switch off.

          When all the pressure is released, remove the green chilly, then put it back on the stove, add some salt and mix. Add the kasuri methi, garam masala, about 1 cup of water and simmer for a couple of minutes and remove. Just before serving, heat some ghee and oil, add the cumin seeds, red chillies, chopped garlic, saute till the garlic turns golden, then add it to the dal/cooked lentils, finally garnish with the chopped coriander and serve.

Note
You can cook the dals in a regular pot instead of the pressure cooker, if using regular pot, soak the dals for 30 minutes and then cook, the dal will cook faster.
I would love to do the flavoring with burnt charcoal, didn't have the charcoal, next time I am surely going to try and will surely update it here.