Daal series: Spinach daal
A comforting and warm daal finished off with ginger and cumin
Funnily enough, I just realised that I haven’t written about daal at all on Medium so far! I have a few favourite daals — I say “few” because whenever I make each of them individually, I fool myself into thinking that I love the daal that’s in front of me! That’s how much I adore daal. It’s a simple, warm and satisfying dish that I’ve enjoyed for as long as I can remember.
For those unfamiliar with what daal is, it always uses lentils as a main ingredient, followed by a tarka step at the end. In some daals, there is an additional tarka step at the beginning.
Type of Lentils used
Depending on the daal you are making, you’ll have to pick the right type of lentils. Some of the common lentils used are:
- masoor (usually red or brown)
- toor (split pigeon peas)
- urid (can be black whole urid or split urid which is white)
- moong (can be green when whole or yellow when split)
What is a tarka?
A tarka simply refers to a combination of whole spices (and sometimes other ingredients) that is usually fried in ghee (clarified butter) and added at the end when the daal has finished cooking. This elevates any…
