Looking for suggestions on my homemade tadka dal, + other people's recipes

[with_rainfall]

Tadka dal! This is my really basic recipe, mostly intended for people who haven’t made dal before. It’s totally not a definitive one; I once heard that there are as many ways to make tadka dal as there are households in India, and I wouldn’t be surprised.

With that in mind, I have a couple of questions.

a) Would I ruin this by adding lemongrass? My

Comments

[with_rainfall]

Coriander and cloves, of course! And the veg stock is an interesting idea... I'll have to try that and see if it improves the taste. Thanks!

[yukina99]

Hi,

We make one tarka dal version with mung beans. It is another style of Punjabi tarka. You would find these mostly in little roadside joints called Dhaabas.
Here's my version(it might be a bit tedious but if the preparation is done well beforehand, it will be easier):

For dal(You have to boil/pressure cook this):
1 cup dry mung beans
1 inch ginger grated
5-6 cloves of garlic chopped/sliced
a little mustard oil(vegetable oil will work fine)
salt
2 cups water(add a bit more if needed according to pressure cooker)

For tadka(actually cooking the dal after tenderized)
2 tbsp mustard oil(gives good flavour but you can use any vegetable oil)
1bay leaf
1 big or 2 small onions finely sliced
11/2 inch ginger finely chopped
4-5 garlic finely chopped
whole spices: 2 green cardamom; 2-3 cloves; 1 small piece of cinnamon
1 big tomato diced
2 green chillis slit( increase or decrease the amt. as per your taste)
1 tsp curry powder(optional)
1tsp turmeric
1tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
pinch of sugar
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves/kasuri