Dhal is an Indian lentil soup that is ridiculously easy to make, and very delicious. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like my soup (or maybe they were just being polite). However, when I do whip up a soup pot, it’s usually gone by the next day.
Here are the basic ingredients that you absolutely need to pull off successful dhal, and I will put notes as to where you can fudge on it.
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One bag of red lentils. They must be red lentils. Brown or French will not work.
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One Onion * any variety
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½ tablespoon of Cumin seeds * Ok, you CAN use ground cumin, but for some reason the seeds just ‘make’ the soup. Go invest in a bottle. It’s inexpensive and really worth it.
That’s the bare bare bones.
Now to add:
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Tomatoes (big, small, whatever)
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Curry power or Garam Marsala
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garlic (fresh cloves work best, in a pinch powder will do)
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cayenne pepper (or red pepper flakes if you don’t have cayenne)
In a large pot, cook rinsed red lentils in enough water that covers at least 2 inches above legume line. Add cut up tomatoes (or whole!) You will be adding more water as these cook down. Add some olive oil (2 tsp), or other vegetable oil so it doesn’t stick to the sides.
In a separate pan, cook down chopped onions + the cumin seeds in a vegetable oil. I prefer olive oil on a low heat. Cook them until the onions are browning. Add in 1 tbsp of curry powder or garam marsala. Add in diced garlic and cook lightly with the onions. After several minutes, transfer the onion mixture to your soup pot with the lentils. This is when I add my cayenne pepper. I decide who I am cooking for – I like hot spicy food, so I add in at least one healthy tsp. If you don’t like spicy hot, skip this step.
Continue to add water under the tomatoes have cooked down and are looks. Lentils should have broken apart and soup should be a consistent texture. Keep stirring! You want to incorporate that onion mixture. I add salt and pepper last to season my soup, but the previous spices will already add amazing flavors.
