This recipe, for spiced split chickpeas, calls for a mathani, a sort of hand blender, but if you don’t have one and don’t want to buy one, a potato masher will do the trick.
New Delhi-Style Chana Dal
Ingredients
- 1 cup split chickpeas (chana dal)
- 1 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 bay leaf preferably Indian
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sunflower orsafflower oil
- 6 whole cloves
- 4 garlic cloves large,thinly sliced
- 1 tsp crushed-red-chile flakes (optional)
- 3 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Combine the chana dal, turmeric, cardamom, bay leaf, salt and 4 cups water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently, cover partly and cook for 40 minutes. At that point, the mixture should still be quite moist; if it is not, add 1 cup additional water and continue cooking, covered, until the dal is tender, about 20 minutes; turn off the heat. Remove the bay leaf. Use an Indian mathani to purée the dal for about 1 minute; the dal should be saucy but not soupy.
- To make the tadka, put the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cloves; let sizzle for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until medium brown. Stir in the chili flakes if you’re using them, and turn off the heat.
- Pour the tadka into the dal; stir gently to combine. Garnish with cilantro and serve.
Notes
Recipe from cooking.nytimes.com
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