1teaspoonKasoori methi (Dried fenugreek leaves)lightly crushed between your palms
2teaspoonsLemon juice
1tablespoonCilantro or coriander leaveschopped finely
Instructions
Take urad dal in a colander and rinse under running cold water until water runs clear. Or rinse them in a bowl 2-3 times until the water is not cloudy anymore. Take rinsed dal in a pressure cooker along with fresh water.
Add salt and turmeric powder, red chili powder and stir well.
Cover the cooker with a lid, and put the weight on. Cook on medium heat for 3 whistles or until dal is cooked to soft. Let the pressure go down by itself and open the lid.
White dal is pressure cooking, start cooking onion tomato masala on another stove.
Heat the oil in a pan or kadai on medium heat. Once hot add chopped onion and sprinkle a little salt to speed up the cooking process. Cook until onions are soft and translucent or light brown in color.
Add ginger, garlic and green chili. Mix and saute for a minute or until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.
Add tomatoes. Mix and cook until tomatoes are soft and almost mushy.
Add cooked dal along with some more water. Add smoked paprika as well for a smokey flavor.
Mix and simmer on low for 7-8 minutes. Do stir in between to make sure that dal is not sticking to the pan.
Add butter and let it melt.
Add garam masala and kasoori methi. Mix well.
Lastly, squeeze the fresh lemon or lime juice and stir.
Finally, garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.
Notes
Smokey flavor: We are taking a shortcut and adding smoked paprika. Alternately, you can use dhungar method (explained in detail in the dal tadka recipe).
Adjust the spice level by increasing or decreasing the green chili and red chili powder amount.
Scalable: You can double or triple the recipe as needed.