I make a lot of dals or Indian lentils. It's an easy way to insert protein into vegetarian meals, and I usually make enough to last for days. When I saw a complicated Carrot Dhal recipe in the much-heralded Modern Cook's Year cookbook, I didn't think this recipe was for me. Does one really need a dal that requires many steps, and a special accompanying pickle at that?
Insert the obvious yes! This recipe produced a fantastic dal, with incredibly complex flavors and textures – slightly sweet from the carrots, creamy from the coconut milk, deeply spiced from the ground and crushed spices, slight bitterness from the spinach, and the sharp, spiced tang of the accompanying radish pickle. Amazing. This is a dal to serve at a dinner party to wow your guests instead of having it be a mere humble, protein-rich side.
I did make a number of changes to the recipe, some intended and others inadvertent. Starting with the latter, I used 3/4 cup of masoor dal and 1/4 cup of moong dal because I ran out of masoor dal, I substituted champagne vinegar for white wine vinegar, used Better than Bouillon for the broth, and used light coconut milk instead of its full fat equivalent. On the intended changes, I used slightly less lemon zest (3/4 lemon) and juice (1/2 lemon), slightly less cilantro and green chile, and reduced the cooking water to 2 cups to produce a thicker dal, which worked out well.
I also found microplaning everything to be a bit of a pain, so ended up using the largest holes on a box grater for the carrots and just finely chopped the onion and chile, which was fine.
While the dal is cooking, whip up your radish pickle, and then serve together. You won't regret the time spent to prepare this luscious dish!
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