Step 1

Cook the split peas or lentils: wash the lentils/dal and soak in hot water for 10 minutes then drain and add to a sauce pan. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Cook over medium heat, partially covered. Depending on the dal it will take anywhere between 35 to 55 minutes.

Step 2

If using chana dal, use a pressure cooker and pressure cook 18-20 minutes. It might take up to 2 hours in a saucepan if the dal is too old.

Step 3

To pressure cook the dal, use only 2 cups of water and add the rest of the ingredients with the washed and drained dal to an instant pot or pressure cooker and pressure cook for 10 minutes for the split pigeon pea / toor dar, 6 minutes for moong dal and 18 minutes for chana dal. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 mins then quick release, then open the lid.

Step 4

Make the tempering. Add oil to a skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, you can check the oil by putting 1 or 2 mustard seeds and see if they start to change colour immediately. If they don’t then let the oil get hot for another minute or If they pop out immediately, the oil is a bit too hot, reduce heat a bit and continue.

Step 5

Add the mustard seeds to the hot oil and cook until either the mustard seeds pop or change color and lighten significantly. Then add the cumin seeds and mix well for a few seconds. Then reduce the heat to medium and add the curry leaves, asafoetida and mix in for another few seconds. Then add garlic carefully and mix in really well.

Step 6

If you’re using an electric stove, take pan off the stove because the electric stove takes longer to reduce the heat. Also add in 1 more teaspoon of oil if pan is overheated.

Step 7

As soon as  the garlic is starting to turn golden, mix really well then add in the Kashmiri chili powder, cayenne and mix in. Take the pan off heat.

Step 8

Drop this tadka/tempering into the dal. I usually put the dal into a serving container before adding the tadka so that tempering can be swirled in and not mixed in completely.

Step 9

If your tempering doesn’t have enough oil then you can add in a few splashes of water to get all of the tempering and pour this hot tempering all over the cooked dal. Swirl it in.

Step 10

Garnish with lemon juice and cilantro and serve immediately, with flatbread, bhakri or rice. This Chataka dal goes incredibly well with rice.