Orgasmic Chef

for food better than sex

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beef
    • Bread
    • Breakfast
    • Candy
    • Casseroles
    • Cheese
    • Chicken
    • Cookies
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • Ethnic
    • fish/seafood
    • holidays
    • Ice Cream
    • lamb
    • Main Courses
    • Pasta
    • Pork
    • Preserves
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches
    • Snacks
    • Soup
    • Thermomix
    • Vegetables
  • Bucket List
  • Post Gallery
  • Great Blogs
  • EasyIndex
  • About Me
  • Contact

Lentil Dal

May 7, 2013 by Maureen 71 Comments

Until today I’d never owned a recipe for yellow lentil dal but I do now and it’s good stuff.  Before I get into the recipe, I want to tell you what happened yesterday.  Many of you know I take Charlie ball chasing on the beach every day at low tide. At low tide the sand is hard and easy to walk on.  It’s heaps less work that marching in soft sand.

I don’t know how he knows it’s low tide unless he looks out at the canal and can tell but you can be sure that 15 minutes before low tide he starts to twitch.  If nobody notices the twitch there’s a slight cry or whimper.  If I know what he’s doing and I’m working and really don’t want to go to the beach I pretend I can’t hear him.

That’s when he jumps up and looks at me with that look that screams, “IT’S TIME!!”   Yesterday, when it was time I was writing my part of the workshop I’m doing on blogging and I didn’t want to break my concentration to toss a ball, plus it was going to rain.  So I ignored him.  Fruitless.  Off we went with him in the middle of the back seat looking very regal and proud of himself.  We have beach down pat.  It’s called beach.  “Charlie want to do beach?”  I have no idea how that got started. Walkies he still gets a bit rambunctious on.

The beach is about 5 minutes from the house by car and because of the horrid storms we had last year, the dunes were cut into sheer cliffs so we go to one where I won’t kill myself getting down to the beach OR getting back  up.  The walk from the curb to the beach goes through bushland and takes about 3-5 minutes depending  upon how many blades of grass he needs to pee on.

This way

Yesterday however, he decided that the walk through the bush was when he needed to poo.  I didn’t notice but when I bent over to take care of his business, I dropped my keys.  I had no clue and off we went.

After walking about a kilometre and a half it began raining so we turned around.  I saw a man at the beach entrance and he was waving but I had no idea he was waving to me.  I should have known as there was only one other person on the beach and she had 4 dalmations.  As I got closer the man kept waving a big stick.  I wondered if it was John but when I got there, he said, “have you lost your keys?”

Shock!

“Yes,” I said, “Did you find them?”

“yes”

and then he wanted me to tell him all the numbers on my keys.  Now my car is 2 years old and it still has that little blue tag on it from when I picked it up from the dealer.  I don’t fool around with details.  I had no idea what the numbers were.  I told him I could describe the car and that the back seat was full of sand and tennis balls.  He said that was good enough.

We drove home and after showering and rinsing Charlie off I baked some cookies and brought them back.  I’d watched the couple cross the street and go into a house directly opposite the park.  I rang the bell and the man came out, took the cookies and said, “I’m Harold Greene and I’m so pleased to meet you.  You’re a good woman.”  I laughed and thanked him again.  Imagine if I’d had to walk all the way home in the rain.  Imagine them sitting at a picnic table in the park in the rain waiting for someone to come out of the woods looking for her keys?  Kindness exists, folks.  It’s everywhere but we concentrate on the bad stuff too often.

lentil dhal

Now about this lentil dal.  This was a lovely way to warm up the old bones.

5.0 from 7 reviews
Lentil Dal
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
45 mins
Total time
55 mins
 
This is a hearty and healthy protein rich vegetarian meal.
Author: Maureen
Recipe type: Vegetarian
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 cup mung dal
  • 2 cups water or vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • dash cayenne pepper (or more, if you like spice!)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp margarine or olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 whole cloves
  • black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. In a large soup or stock pan, combine the mung dal or yellow lentils, vegetable broth, turmeric, cayenne and salt. Bring to a slow simmer. Cover partially with a lid and allow to cook for 30-40 minutes.
  2. In a separate skillet, sautee the onion, cumin seeds and clove in ghee or olive oil for just a few minutes, until onions are soft.
  3. Add the onions and spices to the mung dal or lentils and allow to simmer for a few more minutes, stirring well to combine. Sprinkle with a dash of black pepper and add extra salt to taste, if needed.
  4. Serve plain, as soup, or over rice.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
3.2.1753

 

Filed Under: Vegetables Tagged With: dal, dhal Indian, lentils, vegetarian

« White Chocolate Bread Pudding Made with Tea Infused Cream
Raspberry Tea »

Comments

  1. Rachel @ Sweet Ravioli says

    May 7, 2013 at 10:47 pm

    Yum, looks great!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 7, 2013 at 11:04 pm

      Thanks Rachel!

      Reply
  2. RavieNomNoms says

    May 7, 2013 at 10:52 pm

    That looks really good! I really enjoy lentils

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 7, 2013 at 11:04 pm

      Thanks so much for coming by, Raven and I appreciate the comment. 🙂

      Reply
  3. The Café Sucre Farine says

    May 7, 2013 at 11:57 pm

    That is the prettiest picture Maureen and it sounds quite yummy! It’s always a treat to meet nice people, so glad he was the one who found your keys!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:53 pm

      Me too. Since the live across the street from the beach entrance we always use, I’m sure we’ll see them walking their perfectly groomed poodle. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Gourmantine says

    May 8, 2013 at 1:09 am

    Ok, can I just say how jealous I am of you living so close to the beach, that’s quite a dream. How nice of the man to find your keys and actually to make sure it was your car, it’s true we can find kindness when least expected.
    p.s. love the dal!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:51 pm

      Thank you. I’m, pretty sure your mother’s poppy seed cake would have been a real treat after eating my dal. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Claire @ Simply Sweet Justice says

    May 8, 2013 at 1:33 am

    When I first tried a similar dish, it was described as “chicken soup for the yogi.” It is a comforting, yummy meal.

    Reply
  6. john@kitchenriffs says

    May 8, 2013 at 2:05 am

    Great story. You are a good woman. And Harold Greene is a good man. I’ve been a bit obsessed by dried legumes and pulses lately. I have a new kitchen toy (a Spanish olla – a clay pot) that I’ve been cooking beans in (some i the oven right now). And I do have mung dal in my pantry, and haven’t made a dal in months. Hmm . . . 😉 Fun post – thanks.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:49 pm

      A clay pot? I’m envious to the 10th degree 🙂

      Reply
  7. Laura (Tutti Dolci) says

    May 8, 2013 at 5:42 am

    Your dal looks so fragrant, love the spices!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:48 pm

      It was pretty to look at too 🙂

      Reply
  8. Choc Chip Uru says

    May 8, 2013 at 5:47 am

    Kindness from strangers is rare but definitely is one of the best experiences when it happens 🙂
    And coming from an Indian girl who eats daal every second day, your recipe sounds and looks delicious 🙂

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:47 pm

      That’s a kind compliment, Uru!

      Reply
  9. EA-The Spicy RD says

    May 8, 2013 at 9:17 am

    Love your story, although I thought you were going to say your keys dropped in the dog poo. Or, maybe that’s only something that would happen to me 🙂 I’ve yet to own a Dal recipe, but yours looks delicious! I’ve been using turmeric a lot lately, so I definitely need to add this to my repoitoire!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:46 pm

      LOL no, thank goodness for that!

      Reply
  10. ChgoJohn says

    May 8, 2013 at 9:53 am

    A warming dal and a heart-warming story. You’re right, Maureen. We do tend to focus on the negatives when, in reality, the good for outweighs the bad.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:44 pm

      You are so right. I’m still swooning over the pea soup. That was pretty positive!

      Reply
  11. A_Boleyn says

    May 8, 2013 at 10:00 am

    Lovely story, Maureen. You’re right, there ARE good people out there and you’re good people too for returning cookies for keys. 🙂 Charlie has you trained well to ‘beach’.

    I think I’d like the dish best as a soup. A lovely hearty soup.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:43 pm

      I was going to walk by myself tonight but I just couldn’t get past “the look” when he saw me put a jacket on. 🙂

      Reply
  12. Joanne T Ferguson says

    May 8, 2013 at 10:03 am

    G’day! Your recipe and photo looks very inviting, TRUE!
    Dhal was on my list yesterday to make too!
    Cheers!
    Joanne
    What’s On The List?
    http://www.whatsonthelist.net

    Reply
  13. Tricia @ Saving room for dessert says

    May 8, 2013 at 10:34 am

    Yum – I bet this is tasty. Love the color and I bet the aroma is fantastic. And I love stories of kindness. Glad they found your keys 🙂

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:43 pm

      Too often we focus on the one or two horrid things in life but don’t ever consider how many good things happen.

      Reply
  14. Hotly Spiced says

    May 8, 2013 at 11:13 am

    That’s a lovely story, Maureen and I love how you described Charlie on his walk. It reminded me of my girls, Ruby and Rosie. Just how many places do they need to pee on one walk. You were looked after by the angels on your walk – imagine having to re-trace your steps to work out where you could have lost your keys! Reminds me of a leatherman story! xx

    Reply
  15. yummychunklet says

    May 8, 2013 at 12:11 pm

    Wonderful post!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:42 pm

      thank you!

      Reply
  16. Roberta says

    May 8, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    Great story. What a beautiful place to be able to walk Charlie. Losing your keys sounds like something that would happen to me.

    Since I do not like lentils I can not honestly say much about the recipe except the color is pretty.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:42 pm

      LOL Roberta, you crack me up. I’ve never had a love affair with them either but I’m allowing them to grow on me.

      Reply
  17. Eha says

    May 8, 2013 at 1:55 pm

    Maureen, I have made this sans cloves [interesting] to use instead of butter on bread/toast for over three decades: could not live without it! I saute the onions at the end with somewhat more turmeric, cook the lentil ‘down’ a little more. Make bigger batches, place such in small ramekins with the onions on top, and freeze. Great as an alternative to hommus and vegetable/avocado spreads. Of course use it the way you do also 🙂 !

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:41 pm

      The cloves were different but then I’m a different sort of gal. The cloves weren’t bad 🙂

      Reply
  18. Lail | With A Spin says

    May 8, 2013 at 2:44 pm

    What a lovely story, Maureen. I frequently eat lentil and yours look delicious. Never add cloves but will try next time. Thanks for the idea.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:40 pm

      I had never tried cloves before either but someone else did and I tried it 🙂

      Reply
  19. Kari @ bite-sized thoughts says

    May 8, 2013 at 4:16 pm

    What a wonderful story! That has really made my day. Your recipe looks gorgeous too – and perfect for after a rainy afternoon at the beach.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:39 pm

      Thanks, Kari, I was blessed!

      Reply
  20. Lizzy (Good Things) says

    May 8, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    That’s it! Peter and I are coming to visit… we would like to request a bowl of your dal please… followed by a walk to your beach xox

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 8:38 pm

      Promise?

      Reply
  21. Glamorous Glutton says

    May 8, 2013 at 8:53 pm

    I love Dahl, it’s like extreme comfort food and all the spices make it so morish. Every recipe is slightly different, this looks delicious. How fab to live so close to the beach. GG

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 9:45 pm

      I LOVE living here. The Sunshine Coast is the best place I’ve ever lived and I’ve moved around a lot 🙂

      Reply
  22. Claire @ Claire K Creations says

    May 8, 2013 at 9:01 pm

    What a lovely post Maureen! That’s so nice of him to wait for you to come and find your keys and to worry that the wrong person may claim them. So sweet of you to bake for him too!!!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 9:43 pm

      He was afraid of giving someone’s car away. 🙂

      Reply
  23. Eva Taylor says

    May 8, 2013 at 9:10 pm

    What a great story Maureen, I’m so glad it had a happy ending. I also bake as gifts for a nice gesture, goodness in people is everywhere.
    We love lentils but I’ve never made Dahl before, gotta get on that band wagon for sure!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 8, 2013 at 9:43 pm

      Giving something hand made always shows you’re serious. 🙂

      Reply
  24. Karen (Back Road Journal) says

    May 8, 2013 at 10:10 pm

    There are truly good people in this world. Both you and Harold showed kindness to each other. I have not cooked with yellow lentils…your dal sounds delicious.

    Reply
  25. Lisa the Gourmet Wog says

    May 8, 2013 at 11:05 pm

    Charlie certainly has a sixth sense! The story ended with a ‘happily ever after’ thank goodness. I’d hate to think what would’ve happened if you lost them forever.
    Great recipe 🙂

    Reply
  26. Mary Frances says

    May 9, 2013 at 1:41 am

    I can smell this with the cumin – I love lentils and cumin!! Sounds perfectly yummy – even now, even here, as it’s still cold here!

    And you’re right – we tend to focus on the bad and we should only focus on the good.

    BTW – what kind of cookies?

    Reply
  27. Judy @Savoring Today says

    May 9, 2013 at 4:43 am

    I have been wanting to make dal, but didn’t know where to start so your recipe and inspiration are well timed. 🙂 Kindness is everywhere and we have a tendency to experience it more when we become part of the giving of it. 🙂

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 9, 2013 at 11:18 am

      I suppose you’re right but when we watch the news it’s always doom and gloom and we tend to get caught up with the “everything’s rotten and we’re going to hell in a handbasket” attitude. At least I do 🙂

      Reply
  28. lizzie - strayed from the table says

    May 9, 2013 at 8:28 am

    Great story Maureen, glad you got your keys back. There are few kind folk out there its just sometimes you get to interact with them that makes you realise that they do exist. I have never used yellow lentils for dahl – Always mung bean dahl in our house.

    Reply
  29. Rosa says

    May 9, 2013 at 8:50 am

    One of my favorite dishes! Your dal looks delicious. Lovely spices.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  30. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says

    May 9, 2013 at 8:55 am

    Dal is a favourite in our household too especially as the weather cools down. I noticed you mentioned the cool down in weather on twitter yesterday! And what a nice man and what a nice woman you are to bake cookies! 😀

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 9, 2013 at 11:28 am

      What else could you bring to strangers? 🙂

      Reply
  31. Norma Chang says

    May 9, 2013 at 9:28 am

    Yes, there are many, many more good people in the world but we hear mostly about the bad, so unfortunate. Your soup has such a gorgeous color, am sure it was delicious.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 9, 2013 at 11:27 am

      Thanks Norma and I’ve made a pledge to look for more acts of kindness and watch less tv news 🙂

      Reply
  32. Julia | JuliasAlbum.com says

    May 9, 2013 at 9:56 am

    I love everything with lentils, and it always amazes me how 1 teaspoon of turmeric can make everything so yellow!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 9, 2013 at 11:27 am

      Maybe I’m the only one but when I see what one teaspoon can do I wonder if it colors my insides too 🙂

      Reply
  33. Ramona says

    May 9, 2013 at 10:31 am

    Wow, that was some luck you had with a stranger finding your keys. The “oh no!” went off in my head when you wrote you dropped your keys…. but thank goodness for the kindness of strangers. We do dwell too often on the “oh no” things in life.. not enough on the “oh good”. 🙂

    Love the dal…the color makes me happy. 🙂

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 9, 2013 at 11:25 am

      You’re right, Ramona and I’m so glad Harold and his wife found my keys.

      Reply
  34. mjskit says

    May 9, 2013 at 12:28 pm

    How lucky you are to have had your keys found by an honest person! But…who on earth knows the numbers on their keys? 🙂 I’ve never made dal before, but yours does looks delicious!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 9, 2013 at 2:17 pm

      I certainly didn’t know the dealer’s numbers for the car. 🙂 So I’ve taken that bit off. LOL Finally.

      Reply
  35. Nusrat Azim says

    May 10, 2013 at 1:24 am

    You gave an interesting rendition to our good old lentil dal 🙂 Thank you for that !

    And I love the way you story-tell and make your lovely pictures talk. Love ‘n hugs.

    Reply
  36. Monica says

    May 10, 2013 at 10:09 pm

    Lentil dal is a staple in my kitchen. Love it. 🙂

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 11, 2013 at 8:25 am

      Nice to see you, Monica!

      Reply
  37. Beth @ bethmichelle.com says

    May 11, 2013 at 2:48 am

    Wow! You are so lucky that someone found your keys and that you were able to get them back! I recently locked my keys and phone in my car in a city an hour away from where I live!! Luckily a nice girl stopped to help me. She phoned a locksmith and waited with me just to make sure he came!! Kindness does exist!
    This lentil dal looks great. I love a good dal recipe. Ill have to try this.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 12, 2013 at 9:39 am

      It does and I had a smile on my face all day and refused to watch the news 🙂

      Reply
  38. Gomo | cHow Divine says

    May 12, 2013 at 7:03 am

    Such beautiful color! I love lentil dal. I need to start making it again. Thanks for sharing your story about the lost keys. It confirms my belief that there are more good folks out there than people think. 🙂

    Reply
  39. Charles says

    May 16, 2013 at 12:09 am

    Back seat full of sand and tennis balls… LOL! :D. Glad you were able to get your keys back! Would have been terrible to lose them in the middle of beach somewhere. Lovely looking dal Maureen – I love lentil dals – they have such a nice, smooth, almost “creamy” flavour!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      May 16, 2013 at 5:52 pm

      Every time someone tells me to pick them up I have to use John’s car 🙂

      Reply
  40. steve says

    July 12, 2013 at 1:00 am

    Hi! I came across your lentil dal recipe after huffing and puffing about other ones I’d seen. Liked the look of yours – just made it – and it is FAB! Nice job! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      July 13, 2013 at 8:36 am

      Thanks Steve!

      Reply
  41. rakhiIndia.in says

    July 5, 2017 at 7:30 pm

    thank you so much for LENTIL DAL Recipe giving such amazing and luscious recipies… I appriciate your write up.
    http://www.rakhiinindia.in/

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe

Subscribe by email
Got It!
Please check your email to confirm.
Email:

Oops! That doesn't look like a valid email
First Name:

Please tell us your first name
Go!
Please wait
 Twitter Google Plus Facebook Pinterest Email  RSS Instagram

Previous Posts

 More ...

I’m on…

The Noblys 121 ultimate food blogs for 2018

Good Food Links

Blogs I love

Most Popular Posts

  • Flakey, buttery, biscuits Best Fluffy, Flakey, Buttery Biscuits Ever 452 comments
  • Best Banana Muffins The BEST Banana Muffins EVER 221 comments
  • how to make licorice ice cream Licorice Ice Cream 163 comments
  • Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles Best Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles 152 comments
  • Eggless Sugar Cookies Eggless Sugar Cookies 143 comments

Our Other Projects

EasyIndex Plugin
EasyRecipe Plugin
Fooderific.com
Australia's Best Food Blogs
America's Best Food Blogs

Archives

Privacy

Orgasmic Chef Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress