Brown Lentil and Yellow Split Pea Dal

This recipe is my attempt at recreating a delicious dal I had recently at Nirvana Indian Restaurant in Corvallis using ingredients I already had in my pantry. Before I get to my own dal, let me tell you a little about this restaurant. Nirvana is hands-down one of my favorite restaurants anywhere.

Z. and I regularly treat ourselves to a meal at Nirvana every six or weeks or so. Our favorite server, and I think one of the managers, is always there to make us feel very welcomed and appreciated. Normally, we go for the lunch buffet. Some of the dishes that always remain as part of the buffet are pakoras, tandoori chicken, dal, naan, and rice. There is almost always saag, The other dishes change with an emphasis on vegetarian, carnivores will not be disappointed. I am sure I have tried every single dish offered including different chicken curries, vegetable and/or potato dishes, egg curry, and an endless number of legume recipes. They served a ground lamb dish as part of their New Year's Even dinner buffet that I absolutely loved. Z. looks forward to the pakoras the most and I cannot wait to dive into their saag, it is so light and creamy. We have gone to Nirvana for dinner, ordering off the menu, and been very pleased. I tried a lamb curry (yum!) and we shared aloo paratha, whole wheat bread stuffed with spiced potatoes and peas. Delicious!

I have never had the same dal twice. I must say I have had the toor dal at Nirvana and Z.'s dal is just as good. Some day, I will feel ready to share that recipe. I particularly enjoyed the dal I ate during my last visit. The main attraction was brown lentils that were tender but still toothsome. There was a smaller proportion of yellow split peas, which must have had a chance to cook longer because they were mostly broken down. Fresh tomato added an acidity that cut through the brown lentils.

My creation was delicious and very different from what I ate at the restaurant. I used tomato paste rather than fresh tomatoes. The flavor was great but the effect was unlike that provided by fresh tomatoes. I would like to add, I used tomato paste that I had measured into portions, wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen a couple of months ago. Here is a picture of what was frozen. The tomato paste seemed to work great and none was wasted. If I were to use fresh tomatoes, I would use 3-4 roma tomatoes that I had de-seeded and chopped roughly. Add them after cooking the spices for 30 seconds or so and cook briefly, just until the tomatoes begin breaking down.

The dal I had at Nirvana had lots of broth that had been thickened by broken down yellow split peas. When cooking my dal I added about 10 cups of liquid, or 1 can vegetable broth and 8 or so cups of water, which seemed like a huge amount. Once the pulses were cooked, my dal was not nearly as brothy as the restaurant dal. This does have advantages. I ate the dal like a soup the first day and as to be expected, much of the liquid was absorbed by the second day, when I ate the dal with rice. Enjoy!

From the top: coriander, garam masala, curry powder, cumin seeds, turmeric

Onions browning

Tomato paste cooking

Brown Lentil and Yellow Split Pea Dal

 2-3 tablespoons canola oil, more as needed
1/2 cup yellow split peas
1 cup brown lentils
10 cups or more water, broth, or a combination
1 onion, chopped
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced finely
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced finely
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin seeds or ground cumin
2 teaspoons coriander seeds or 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
salt, to taste

1. Heat 2-3 tablespoons canola oil in a soup pot over medium-low to medium heat. Adjust heat as needed while cooking to make sure the pot does not get too hot and the food burns. Add onions and season liberally with salt. Cook until brown and soft, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more canola oil if needed.
2. Add chile and garlic. Cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
3. If the pan is dry, add a drizzle of oil, add spices to this oil, and let cook only 30 seconds to one minute.
4. Add tomato paste, stirring frequently, cook 3-4 minutes.
5. Add liquids and yellow split peas. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and let simmer gently 25 minutes.
6. Add brown lentils and cook until tender but still whole, 25-30 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. Garnish with cilantro if desired. Serve as a soup or with rice.