Recipe - Dal

1 One half cup Red or brown lentils,
yellow or green split peas,
or split, hulled mung beans
4 cup Water
2 Dried chiles, whole
One fourth teaspoon Turmeric
One half teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoon Vegetable oil
One half teaspoon Cumin seeds
1 cup Chopped onions
1 teaspoon Fresh ginger root,grate/peel
1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Garam masala (optional)

Wash lentils in several changes of cold water. In a medium pot, cover with
the water and add the whole dried chiles, turmeric, and salt. Bring to a
boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, until very tender. This will
take about 30 minutes for red lintels, 45 minutes for peas, or an hour or
more for mung beans. It may be necessary to add more water to prevent
sticking,but only One half cup at a time, because the final consistancy should
be fairly thick. When the lentils are almost cooked, heat the oil in a
small pan, add the cumin seeds, and cook for 10 or 15 seconds. Stir in the
onions and ginger and cook until the onions begin to brown, about 5 or 10
minutes.
When the lentils are tender, remove and discard the hot peppers. Stir in
the onion mixture, lemon juice, garam masala, and salt to taste. Serve,
passing additional garam masala to sprinkle on top, if desired.

VARIATIONS Spinach Dal: Add 4 cups of chopped, fresh spinach to the onions
after they have sauteed for about 5 minutes and then cook for 5 minutes
more. Tomato Dal: Add 1 cup chopped tomatos to the onions after they have
sauteed for about 5 minutes and then cook for about 5 minutes more.
Spinach Tomato Dal: Add both spinach and tomatoes.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini