Tarka Daal (Lentil
Curry)
Preparation: 20
minutes
Cooking: 1 ½ hours
Serves
6
Ingredients
1 cup red lentil
1 cup yellow lentil
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garlic powder (or paste)
1 tsp ginger powder (or paste)
1 large onion chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup tomatoes chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup tomatoes chopped
Tarka
3-4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
Preparation
- Soak lentils overnight in cold water to allow them to swell up and soften.
- Wash thoroughly and drain before putting in a pan. Cover with cold water to come up half an inch above the lentils.
- Add onions, turmeric, garlic & ginger and stir to mix well. Bring to the boil & simmer in low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally.
- Add tomatoes and salt and simmer for another 15 minutes. By this time the whole mix will look mushy.
- Blend the mixture using a hand blender until it looks smooth & has a creamy texture.
- Now prepare the tarka. Fry garlic in olive oil till dark brown. Pour the daal in a serving dish and add the sizzling tarka on top.
- Use fresh garlic & ginger to have a lighter taste - just peel 2 cloves and press into a smooth paste and grate a small piece of ginger.
- Always put salt & tomato at the end to ensure lentils are cooked thoroughly.
- Add cumin seeds along with sliced garlic to make the spiced tarka.
- Extra garnish of chopped fresh coriander and 4-5 whole green chillies may be added on top of the tarka to give an aromatic finish.
Paratha
Bread is an essential part of Pakistani cuisine. Roti (chapatti) and Naan are the most widely
eaten flat breads in Pakistan
The main difference between roti and paratha is that roti is made with
flour and water whereas paratha usually incorporates ghee or oil. The dough is
rolled out and brushed with ghee (clarified butter) or oil then folded
again, brushed with more ghee and folded again. This is then rolled out to a
circle and cooked on a flat hot surface. The heat makes the layers of dough puff up slightly,
resulting in a more flaky texture.
They can be flavoured with different herbs & spices, rolled, stuffed or just eaten as an
accompaniment to meat, fish and vegetable dishes and make an rich & luxurious addition/replacement to rice.
Time: 30 minutes plus preparation time 1 1/2 hours
Makes 6 large parathas (twice rolled bread)
Ingredients:
2 cups atta or plain white flour
½ cup wholemeal flour
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
- First sift the 2 flours together, add salt and then add enough water to mix into pliable dough. You may need a little bit more than one cup of water but start with half the amount and see how the dough mixes. If dough is too wet then add some more flour.
- Keep aside for at least half an hour to rest.
- Divide the dough into 6 and roll in to smooth balls. Now roll each ball out to about 8 cm (about the thickness of a pound coin) and brush a little oil on top.
- Start folding from one side and once in the shape of a tube roll into a coil shape
- Heat a dry non stick griddle pan or large heavy frying pan.
- Roll each coil shaped ball out to about 8 cm (round) and place on the heated pan.
- Turn over after about a minute (the cooked side will have started to go white) and while the other side is cooking brush some vegetable oil on the cooked side.
- Turn this side over to cook and brush the cooked side with some more oil.
- Press with a flat spoon to brown evenly and turn over a few times to ensure both sides are cooked.
- The paratha is ready when you cannot see any raw dough and it will turn a nice golden brown. Place on a plate and cover with a tea towel to keep moist.
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