Best Lentil Recipes -- The Dal I Made While America Counted

Election Day. I voted. Raj voted. Amma and Appa voted (absentee, because Priya will not allow her seventy-two-year-old parents near a polling place during a pandemic). America held its breath. I'm not going to write about politics. I'm going to write about what I cooked while the results came in. Tuesday night: biryani. Because biryani takes four hours and the results take longer and I needed my hands busy. I started at 5 PM — marinating the chicken, washing the rice, assembling the layers. By 9 PM, the biryani was sealed in the pot, slow-cooking, and the results were still uncertain. Wednesday morning: the results were still not final. I made Amma's filter coffee and drank two cups and watched the news and felt the specific anxiety of a pregnant daughter of immigrants watching her country decide who it wants to be. Thursday: still counting. I made rasam (peppery, clearing, the coffee of Tamil Nadu) and dal (simple, steady, the food of patience) and a batch of lemon rice that I ate standing at the counter because sitting still felt impossible. Saturday: the results. I won't say which way — this isn't that kind of writing. But the country made a decision and I stood in my kitchen and felt the specific feeling of a woman who lives between two cultures, who has one foot in India and one in America, watching America decide. Anaya, blissfully unaware, ate biryani leftovers for three days and didn't complain. She's two and a half. Her political opinions are limited to: more crackers, no bedtime, swing please. The nausea is constant now. Six weeks pregnant. Everything smells too strong. The kitchen, which is usually my sanctuary, is an assault of aromas. I cook with the windows open and a fan running and the specific determination of a woman who refuses to surrender her kitchen to morning sickness. I made dosa on Sunday. The grinder running, the batter spreading, the familiar routine. The baby kicked — no, too early for kicking. The baby existed. Quietly, secretly, sesame-seed-sized, while America counted votes and I made dosa. The dosa was crispy. The country continues. The sesame seed grows.

Of everything I cooked that week — the biryani, the rasam, the dosa — it was the dal that steadied me most. Simple lentils ask nothing of you. They don’t demand attention or technique; they just sit there, softening, doing exactly what they’re supposed to do, which is more than I could say for election returns. This is the version I’ve made a hundred times: red lentils, a tempered tarka, a squeeze of lemon at the end. It is, as I said then, the food of patience — and I have never needed a recipe more.

Best Lentil Recipes (Simple Red Lentil Dal)

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentils (masoor dal), rinsed and drained
• 3 cups water or low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons ghee or neutral oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Fresh cilantro leaves, for serving

Instructions

1. Cook the lentils. Combine rinsed lentils and water (or broth) in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, skimming any foam. Reduce heat to low, add turmeric, and simmer uncovered for 18–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are completely soft and beginning to fall apart.
2. Build the tarka. While lentils cook, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the ghee in a skillet over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cover loosely — they will pop within 30 seconds. Once popping subsides, add cumin seeds and let sizzle 15 seconds.
3. Cook the aromatics. Add onion to the skillet and cook, stirring, 7–8 minutes until golden at the edges. Add garlic and ginger; cook 1 minute until fragrant. Add tomatoes, ground cumin, coriander, and salt. Cook 5 minutes, pressing tomatoes down, until the mixture is jammy and the oil begins to separate at the edges.
4. Combine and finish. Pour the tarka into the cooked lentils and stir to combine. Simmer together 5 minutes to let flavors meld. If the dal is thicker than you like, stir in a splash of water. Taste and adjust salt. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
5. Serve. Ladle into bowls, drizzle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon ghee, and scatter with fresh cilantro. Serve with steamed basmati rice or warm roti.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 230 | Protein: 12g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 31g | Fiber: 8g | Sodium: 370mg