Sri Lankan style
Every household has their own recipe when it comes to dal curry. It is one of the most commonly prepared dishes in a daily basis. A big pot of creamy spicy dal curry is like the ultimate comfort food to us, irrespective of what it is eaten with. We serve this with bread, roti, rice, string hoppers, hoppers you name it!. If you ever visited the island and sit down at the dining table, one thing that is guaranteed to appear would be the humble dal curry.
Having lived for so long, so far away from my motherland, with limited authentic ingredients, I had to be creative when it comes to cooking traditional Sri Lankan dishes. So just like my chicken curry, I have learnt how to create the same flavor profile using alternatives. But if you have access to the actual, real ingredients feel free to use them!
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Red Lentil – There are several varieties when it comes to dal. We use the red Masoor dal for our curry. This type is vibrant, taste better, cooks faster too. Following is what’s used in this recipe.
Curry Leaves – This is something essential for this recipe. Use fresh if you can. I mostly use dried and some times none at all. To balance this out, I have used rosemary and oregano. It is not the same without curry leaves but sometimes I have to use what I have got.
Green chili – A must. I use Thai chilies. I think this is something you will have no trouble finding fresh. If not I’m sure they’ll be available in the frozen isle of most Asian grocery stores.
Fenugreek seeds – We usually use lightly toasted fenugreek. It is a little seed that is bitter on its own. But this adds so much flavor to a curry. It is very medicinal too.
Curry powder – If you can get the Sri Lankan curry powder, then it is the best. If not Indian curry powder works too. Make sure to use the non-roasted one. We use roasted curry powder in chicken (black) curry, it is very darker in color. Following are what I normally use.
Coconut milk – Freshly squeezed is the best. But I have been using canned coconut milk ever since I left Sri Lanka. Stick to your favorite brand. Following are what I use often (they are organic and comes in non-BPA cans) Whole foods 365 and Native forest
Onions – Shallots is what we use for cooking in Sri Lanka. But it is extremely hard to source these here in the US or in Australia and they could be expensive too, so I have been using white or red onions instead.
Now you see, why you have to travel to a place if you want to taste the real thing!
Ingredients
For the curry
- 1 cup red lentil (Masoor Dal)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 big shallot (or onion about 2 tbsp. chopped)
- 1 stalk of curry leaves
- 3 small Thai chili peppers (or less for a milder version)
- 1/2 tbsp. curry powder ( or more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp coriander powder
- 10-15 lightly toasted fenugreek seeds
- 11/4 cups water + 2 tbsp. coconut milk (light milk)
- 1/2 cup thick coconut milk (not cream) + 1/4 cup water
To finish off
- 1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste) added at the end
- fresh coriander and chili to decorate
- Tomatoes (optional)
Instructions
- In a saucepan or a medium pot (clay pots are the best) place the dal and rinse just to remove any residue
- Into the same pot add the light milk i.e. 11/4 (one and a quarter)cups water + 2 tbsp. coconut milk
- Add the chopped up onions/shallots, chopped up garlic
- Slice the chilies in an angle and add to the same pot followed by all the spices except for the salt. We add the salt once the dal is cooked else it won’t cook (or might take ages)
- Tear up the curry leaved and add that too
- Give it a quick mix and place on the stove on high heat
- Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low (the lowest setting available) cover with a lid and let this simmer for 25 minutes
- You can stir it, after about 10 minutes into cooking
- After the 25 minutes, check if the dal is cooked. The cooked dal will look translucent. Otherwise you will see an opaque center. If so give it another 5-10 minutes. If all the water has evaporated, add a few table spoons
- Once it is cooked, then add the 1/2 cup milk and the 1/4 cup water
- Stir and increase the heat to high
- Add salt, stir and taste. Adjust salt according to taste. This is the time to taste and balance other spices too. If it looks pale, add a bit of turmeric or some curry powder
- Bring to a quick boil and take off the heat
- Now the dal is done
- Add a few tomato pieces if you like
- Serve warm decorated with fresh coriander leaves, chili or curry leaves
Notes
Salt is only added once the dal is fully cooked. If you add the salt at the beginning, it will delay the cooking of dal considerably.
If you over salted the dal curry, here’s how to fix; Do one or combination of the following.
- add a bit more coconut milk(plus water) along with some turmeric and curry
- add something sour like 2 tbsp. yogurt or tomato paste
- cook some dal in water and add it to the curry
Make the simple dal curry a little extra special
We can elevate the flavors even more by tempering the above dal curry. Here is how to do it.
You will need,
– 1 tsp black mustard seeds
– 3 tbsp. ghee or butter (oil is fine too)
– 1 tbsp. thinly sliced shallots
– 1 garlic thinly sliced
– 1 tsp dried chili pieces (or roughly chop a dried whole chili)
– few curry leaves
Heat a pan and add oil. When oil is hot enough add the mustard seeds. They should spit and pop. Stir and reduce heat to medium. Add the rest of the stuff and fry for about a minute or until onions and garlic go brown. Pour this over the cooked dal (before adding toppings). You can either mix it or leave it floating on top for a dramatic visual effect! Tempered dal is great served with Dosa or Idli
