Dal

This is how I make dal. I haven't perfected the spicing on this yet, but I thought I would throw it up here anyway since it's pretty good. It's not a casserole, either, of course - but it is good freezer food. This recipe makes a lot, and we usually freeze multiple large yogurt bins of it after the first round. Take this, a simple Pataak's veggie curry, maybe a boil-in-bag or frozen third curry, some basmati rice and you've got a full-fledged Indian feast.

Ingredients

• 2 C dry dal (I often use a mix of different colours and shapes - this time it was half proper yellow dal and half brown dupuis lentils, which are my favourite lentils)
• some veg oil
• 2 onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1-2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp garam masala
• a bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• at least 6 cups broth or water (I use about a litre of broth, and then water as needed)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice (or the juice of one lemon)
• a small dollop of butter

1. Get your spices ready: Put the cumin and mustard seeds in a mortar and crush a bit with a pestle, just to crack them a bit to release their goodness. Measure out the powders into a small bowl and set aside.
2. Chop up the onion fairly finely and saute in some oil over medium heat, the slower and longer the better. Ideally, you're looking to caramelize the onions a bit. When they're nice and golden brown you can get on with the rest of things.
3. While the onions are doing their thing, rinse the dal and/or lentils well and pick through to remove any debris in there. Also, peel and mince the garlic.
   
4. When the onions are starting to caramelize, add the seeds and continue sauteing for a few minutes, then add the garlic and the powder spices. Don't stick your face over the pot with the spices toasting - you'll regret it.
5. After a minute or two, add the dal and the broth and/or water, and the bay leaf. Deglaze, meaning scrape up the yummy coating from the bottom of the pot and stir it in.
   
6. Bring to a boil and simmer until the lentils are cooked, around 4o minutes or so. (This is a great time to start making that Patak's curry, and then when that's up to the simmer, put the rice on)
7. Stir occasionally, and add more water as needed. Make sure that there's always enough liquid to cover the dal.
   
8. When the dal/lentils are getting soft, you can mash them a bit with a potato masher to thicken it up a bit, but you want to keep some intact for the texture. If it's too thick, add more water. If it's too thin, let it boil a bit more aggressively or for longer.
   
9. About 5 minutes before serving, add lemon juice and butter (trust me - this tiny little bit of butter makes a negligible difference to the fat content, but a huge difference to the taste). Then taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.