Easy Masoor Daal

"I tempered the dal the traditional way by heating the oil in a little pan and then added fresh chopped onion (about 1/2 cup), cumin and a half teaspoon of minced garlic. Cook till onions are a light ..." See moregolden brown. Add the cumin and garlic in the last 45 seconds before pouring oil mixture into the daal. Also using ghee (clarified butter) or regular butter gives it a richer and more authentic flavor. Cook the combined mixture for about 2 minutes on low heat. Yummy."

"This recipe is missing quite a few stars of the show in my opinion. No Garlic! No Garam Masala spices mixture! Not nearly enough turmeric! Dried onion instead of fresh?! And no cilantro?! This needs..." See more at least 1 teaspoon of Garam Masala. An additional 3/4 teaspoon of turmeric... 4 gloves of minced garlic, an inch and a half of minced fresh ginger root, a 1/2-3/4 cup cilantro, and a whole fresh onion. I also usually shred some carrot to add to it when cooking the lentils. And I add a diced medium tomato at the end. I saute 1 diced onion in about 1/4 cup oil until its softened... then add the minced garlic, ginger, and spices and cook for 4-5 minutes, ensuring not to burn the spices and garlic. Then I add the diced tomato and cilantro to the onions and cook til the tomatoes get nice and soft, stir that mixture into the lentils... simmer it all together for about 5-10 minutes and serve it over steamed basmati rice. I've been doing it like this for ages and its incredible. For those that dislike cilantro, just omit it or use much less."

"Good dal recipe; however, if you soak the dal for an hour before cooking (preferably overnight, but an hour will do) the dal will get softer much quicker. also, fresh dhaniya leaves (=coriander, cilan..." See moretro) added at the very end, after the dal is cooked, will add so much to flavour. just a handful of dhaniya will do. :)"