On a recent trip to the library, I decided to browse the cookbook and craft sections before checking out the books I had intended to pick up. As I was looking through the stacks, I found a cookbook that I was truly not expecting. The Delicious Book of Dhal, by Nitisha Patel, promised new approaches to a staple of every Indian meal that usually doesn't require formal recipes.
Curious to see if there could truly be new ways to spice up Indian pulses, I added the book to my check out stack.
Funnily enough, while the intention to try something new convinced me to check out the book, I ended up making only the book's simplest dal recipe – Patel's version of Dal Tadka, or just a simple cooked dal to which bloomed spices are added.
I cooked the dal in my Instant Pot, and the toor dal required only 6 minutes on high pressure before it was cooked. Similar to other Instant Pot experiences I've had, using approx. 1.5 liters of water was a bit too much for the amount of dal so I had to drain some of it before proceeding.
I then prepared the tadka, or the stovetop pan with the spices that would ultimately flavor the dal. The spices heating in oil definitely made our apartment – and entire apartment floor (sorry neighbors!) – smell like Indian food for several hours, but the results were very good.
I particularly liked the addition of lemon juice and brown sugar to add a tamarind-like sweet-and-sour flavors to the finished dal, reminding me that I have tamarind pulp in my freezer that I should be using more often!
So hat's off to Ms. Patel, though I still need to try her more complicated recipes to fully assess whether a cookbook adds much to this Indian staple.
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