Tamatar Dal

I’ve developed a huge affinity and outright craving for pulses since becoming plant-based. The flavors, textures and rich assortment of recipe ideas using all things pulsed (legumes and grains) is far more interesting to me than the bland taste of meat. And no one offers such a variety quite like the people of the Indian subcontinent. Most of these dishes using dried (mostly split) legumes are called Dal – a term used to describe many soups and thick curries.

I tend to explore many ideas when I prepare a dish, drawing my inspiration from various sources. This idea is inspired by a recipe I encountered in Raghavan Iyer’s cookbook, Indian Cooking Unfolded. I made a few discretionary changes to suit my tastes…like adding red lentils to the recipe in order to create a creamier texture.

Yield: makes about 2 liters (2 quarts)