Some years ago, we did a pot-luck lunch at work, and my then-coworker Arthur (@hungryplanner) brought in a vegetarian lentil dish he called “mung ki dal”. I have no idea if it’s a real authentic Indian recipe, but it was the first time I had a savory vegetarian dish that was oh-my-god-I-could-eat-the-whole-thing delicious that wasn’t pizza or pasta. I asked Arthur for the recipe, and make it somewhat regularly now. It’s one of only two vegetarian mains that I make from scratch on a regular basis (ravioli in marinara sauce doesn’t count) — although I more often have it as a starch complement to a chicken curry (instead of rice or naan) rather than as a main dish. I asked him if I could publish it on the Web, so here goes (sorry, no pictures!). Arthur prefers yellow lentils in this dish, but I’ve never seen such a thing in the supermarkets where I live (green and black, yes, but never yellow) so I use red lentils.

Ingredients

Procedure

1. Pick over lentils to remove non-lentil matter, then rinse in a mesh strainer until water runs clear.
2. Place lentils, water, turmeric, salt, and red pepper in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover partially; simmer until lentils are tender (about 25 minutes for red lentils, longer for yellow).
3. Slice onion thinly from pole to pole. (I cut the onion in half, remove the core, then use my V-slicer, and it works well enough. Slicing radially would probably give better results but I’m lazy.)
4. Melt 3 tbl (1½ oz) butter in a skillet until water has boiled off. Bloom the cumin in the hot fat for 15–30 seconds, then add sliced onions and sauté until slightly browned, about 8 minutes.
5. Add cooked onion to cooked lentil mixture and simmer for another 2 minutes. If you overmix, the lentils will break down completely.
6. Top with remaining 1 tbl butter and parsley and serve.

Nutrition

Arthur’s recipe doesn’t specify a yield. I get three servings as a side, which is how I’ve computed the data below; as a main dish it’s probably two servings (certainly would be for me, anyway, assuming I managed to stop before finishing the whole pot).