Here’s what you’ll need for this simple, delicious dal:
1 cup red split lentils
1 cup finely diced root vegetables (1 small sweet potato OR 3 medium carrots, a very small celery root or 1 medium beet)
1 small yellow onion
1 cup cherry, grape or other small tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
2-inch piece fresh ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
pinch dried chili flakes, or to taste
2 tbsp virgin coconut oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp mustard seeds
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lemon, for serving
To a medium soup pot, add the rinsed lentils, diced root vegetables, diced onion, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and chili flakes. Pour the water into the pot and give everything a little stir.
Place the pot on the stove over medium heat. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 40 minutes, whisking the dal often. Toward the end, the lentils should be completely broken down. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, whisk the dal vigorously to encourage the breaking down of the lentils. It should appear quite soupy. Season the dal generously with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
Heat the coconut oil in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and mustard seeds. Once the seeds are fragrant and popping, remove from the heat.
Gently spoon the toasted spice oil (with the whole spices) on top of the dal. You can lightly stir it in if you like. You can also portion the dal out first and then spoon the spice oil on top if you like. Garnish the dal with the chopped cilantro. Serve the dal hot with lemon wedges.
