Food Diary: A Freezer Full of Dal

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Today’s food tip is something most of you have probably heard before, but it is the food tip that makes most of my Indian feasts possible.

Food Tip #12: Cook in bulk and store leftovers in the freezer.

My favorite food to keep on hand in the freezer is lentil dal. So to make up for this somewhat boring food tip, here is the recipe for lentil dal that made Thursday’s meal possible, adapted from The Essential Madhur Jaffrey. It looks like a long list of ingredients, but it’s actually very easy, as most of the ingredients just get thrown into the same pot as the dal.

Red Lentil Dal with Tomato and Greens

Serves 4.

285g (10 oz) red lentils
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-inch square piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tsp fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
1 Tbsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
6 stalks kale, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, diced into large chunks
3 Tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
a pinch of ground asafetida
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
lemon or lime wedges (optional)

Put dal in a large pot, add 1.1 liters of water and bring to a boil. Remove the froth that collects at the top. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper. Lower heat and simmer gently for about 20-30 minutes, until dal is cooked and soupy. Add salt, lemon juice, greens and tomato. Continue to simmer, letting the greens cook thoroughly.

While the greens cook, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the asafetida and cumin seeds. As son as the cumin seeds darken, pour the oil and spices over the dal and serve, garnished with lemon or lime wedges.