I'm very sorry sir to let the raccoon out of the satchel, but this recipe is, with all due respect, "fusion".

Read: I have bastardized, in my quaint American way, another delicious Indian entree.

But the title. Isn't it hilarious? You know, dal, delicious, dal-icious. No. Truly not funny.

I have posted it here to dodge that bullet for you, lest you make a fool of yourself in front of company. I'm a true modern day hero.

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Dal Markni

  • 1 cup green lentils
  • 1 cup black lentils (2 cups green lentils is okay)
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced
  • 2 hot peppers, seeded and minced (jalapeno, serrano, fresno)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • tsp ground cumin (fresh ground, preferably)
  • 4 sprigs  (minced) or 1.5 tsp oregano
  • small handful chives or green onions
  • 1 squeeze of lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste

In a large-ish pot, sautee the garlic in cooking oil. When the garlic starts to brown, add in the onions and peppers. Cook until tender. Stir in the lentils and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

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Stir in the tomatoes.

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Add the water and some salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer, in that order. Any other order just wouldn't make sense. Unless you're making BIZARRO DAL.

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Once the lentils are tender, add in the oregano and chives and squeeze of lemon. At this point you'll want to sample the dal to confirm that you have, in fact, added far too little salt. It's time to face reality. Add salt until daliciosity occurs. Eat eat eat!