Today’s lentil or Daal recipe is a sort of my improvised version of the classic recipe – how? Because, we Bangladeshis cook either split Muug Daal (Vigna radiata) or Mashur Daal (Lens culinaris) separately, one at a time but never usually together! Each daal has its own unique taste but do you want to know how they taste when you cook them together? Then cook with me!

Well, cooking daal/lentil like Bangladeshis take several steps. Today’s recipe might seem quite extensive but I promise, once you get hold of it, this would be the easiest and tastiest recipe you will ever make!

Unlike my other blog posts, I will describe today’s recipe step by step. I will add the shorter recipe with amount below, but for a new cook, I thought it would be helpful to write step by step in details. However I would like to start with list of ingredients you will need: Muug Daal, Mashur Daal, onion, garlic cloves, ginger, dried red chili, bay leaf, turmeric powder and Pach Phoron. However, you can always use any kind of lentil, depending on your preference and availability.

Step 1: Wash lentils very well with slightly warm water. As you can see in the picture, the water is quite turbid at the beginning but after 8 to 9 washes, it will be clearer. This step is very important to get a proper taste of daal.

Step 2: Boil daal. Now, I like to boil them with salt and turmeric. Please do not add too much water at the beginning because lentil tends to overflow. So add just enough water until lentils are properly boiled. When you will see the lentils have changed colors and half broken, it mean they are cooked. Sometimes, due to type of lentils, its either hard or takes a really long time to get boiled. In that case, you can use a hand blender.
Some people like to strain the water after boiling like pasta, but I do not recommend it, as you will loose most of the nutrients and of course, you will compromise a lot with flavors!

Step 3: Prepare other ingredients. While the daal is getting boiled, slice the onions, garlic and ginger. There is no definite rules of how you slice or chop them.

Step 4: Phoron (Seasoning)! Warm oil in a fry pan in medium low heat. First put your ginger, dried chili and bay leaf in warm oil and after few seconds, add pach phoron seeds and garlic. When everything starts to bubble and garlic are little reddish, add onion slices. The reason I put them separately one after another is to bring out the flavors of each individual spices! If you fear for burning them, just keep the flame in low heat.

You need to saute the onion until they are golden brown. The key is to saute them in low heat. It will take a bit of your time and patience but please do not rush it, because you do not want to end up with burnt onions.

Step 5: Add seasoning. Your daal should be boiled by now. I like my daal half broken, but if you want it smooth, you can always use a hand blender. In Bangladesh, we use a real(!) hand blender (daal ghutni) to blend them.

Now, a tricky step. Take a spoon or a ladle full of boiled lentil and put it in the pan together with onions and spices. This process is messy and you will experience some splatters, but believe me, this is the second most important step. Adding daal in the pan where you made the seasoning gives that classic flavor that you won’t find in doing elsewise. Let the daal simmer a while (5 -10 seconds) and add them back in the pot with rest of the boiled daal. Now, I don’t want to waste any flavor, so I wash up the fry pan with water and add them back in the pot with daal, so that every little atoms of flavor is saved!

If you think this step is too messy, you can of course skip it. Instead, put the seasoning directly in the pot with daal.

Step 6: Almost Done! You can take the daal out of stove now and start eating(!) already, but I like to check salt at this step and see if I need to add more. You can let the daal simmer a bit if you want a thicker consistency, or add little water if you want it thinner. I have added extra water in mine and simmered it for a while.

Finally, the daal is ready and I am hundred percent sure that you will love every bite (!) of this recipe. Enjoy it warm with bread, rice, tortilla or just as it is!

Recipe: 6-8 Servings Prepping time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients: 100g Muug Daal / Yellow Lentil (Vigna radiata) 100g Mashur Daal/ Orange Lentil (Lens culinaris) OR, 200g of any kind of Lentil Spice and Condiments 50ml Vegetable Oil 1 big Onion – Sliced 1 inches Ginger – roughly minced 2-3 cloves of Garlic – Sliced 2 tsp fine Salt 2-3 dried Chili 1 tsp Turmeric powder 1 Bay leaf 1 tbs Pach Phoron (seed mix of nigella, cumin, fenugreek, anis and mustard — you can use either cumin, nigella or mustard seeds if you don’t have Pach Phoron at home)

Instructions: 1. Wash lentils with lukewarm water for 7-8 times until waters come out clean. 2. Boil rinsed lentils in a medium pot along with double amount of water, salt and turmeric. Turn the heat to medium and allow the lentils to cook for 20 minutes. If the lentils are not properly boiled after 20 minutes, then use hand blender. Do not drain water. 3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frypan set over medium heat. Add the ginger, bay leaf and chili first, then garlic and pach phoron; cook for 10- 20 seconds, until they starts bubbling. Add onion and cook them until golden brown. 4. Now, scoop a ladle full of boiled lentil and pour them over fried onion mixture. Simmer for 10 seconds. 5. Pour the lentil- spice mixture to the pot with rest of the boiled lentil. 6. Simmer lentils for 5 to 6 minutes in low heat. You can add extra water if you want lentil more soupy. Serve them hot with rice, ruti or naan. Enjoy!