Tarka Dal (Spiced Lentils) [Attempt #1]

Recipe source: http://www.punjabi-recipes.com/recipes/174.aspx

Recipe result: Success

I eat meat, and I'm damn proud of it. But at the same time, I'm a firm believer in a balanced diet. So when stuff myself on TX barbecue one day, I try to balance it out with a night or two of eating vegetarian-ish. Lentils are perfect for those meals; they cook pretty quickly, and they're relatively hearty and high in protein.

Some minor alterations to the recipe:

1) I don't have a pressure cooker. So I put the lentils and water in a regular stainless steel pot, brought it to a boil, lowered the heat to medium and put the lid on for about 10 minutes.
2) I don't have ghee (clarified butter), so I just used a tablespoon of vegetable oil.
3) I forgot to add turmeric to the water when I boiled the lentils, so I just added the turmeric to the oil around the same time as the minced ginger and garlic.
4) The writer basically decided to let the reader figure out on his/her own what to do with the hing (asafoetida). I learned a while ago that in Indian cooking, a small pinch of asafoetida is the first thing you put into the hot oil. It doens't add anything to the flavor or aroma of the finished product, but word on the street is that asafoetida has antiflatulent properties. So, it's up to your discretion.
5) Similar to the asafoetida, the writer preferred to shroud the end use of the lime juice in total mystery. I just cut it out completely.

Aside from these, I followed the recipe as given.

My ingredient list:
1.5 cups of Masoor dal (pink lentils)
4 cups of water
about 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
pinch of asafoetida (optional)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 medium yellow onion (about 3" in diameter), finely diced
1 Tbsp garam masala
2 vine-ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and diced
Salt to taste

Yields 5 or 6 servings.

Aside from a couple of items from the original ingredient list being overlooked, it was a straight-forward recipe and the end result turned out great. I guess the lesson learned this time is that lentils are surprisingly simple to work with. Basically, boil them and toss them into whatever you want to flavor them with.