TIBETAN FAMILY COOKING at The YAK
with Lodhen Ngui
Lesson 2 – Dahl
PREP TIME
10 minu t es
COOK TIME
30 m ins
TOTAL TIME
25 m ins
If you’ve travelled in Northern India, or the Himalayan region, you have certainly eaten dahl, which is to
the Himalayan diet what bread is to the Western one – the staple, the comfort food you eat at any meal.
Tibetans learned to love dal when they migrated to Northern India after 1959, and now it is as much part
of family cooking as momos and yak butter tea.
Dal is a sort of soup, made by cooking lentils in liquid and spices. Lentils are very nutritious, high in fibre,
low in fat, and a good source of protein, particularly when eaten with rice or bread. It’s fast and easy, and
a great base for a vegetarian meal.
Shopping
One of the best things about dal is that it is a very inexpensive meal to prepare. Red lentils are excellent
value, and very quick to cook, so that is what we will be using today. You can use hulled or un-hulled
lentils or soybeans, but most other kinds of lentils need a bit of preparation before you start. Split red
lentils are Tibetan fast food.
Base Recipe
For each person,
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½ cup of split red lentils (masoor dal)
1 dessertspoon vegetable oil
½ onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, or 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 dessertspoon ginger or 1 heaped teaspoon crushed ginger
½ tspn vegeta stock powder, or ¼ tspn stock powder and ¼ tspn salt
1 small tomato, diced
1 bunch bok choy, roughly chopped
Chopped fresh coriander and spring onion to garnish
Basmati rice – about ½ cup before cooking
Pickle to serve
Optional chilli to taste, and or black pepper
Method
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Wash the lentils and rinse a couple of times. Lots of recipes advise you to be careful to remove
any stones – this is much less of a problem with commercial supply in Australia at present, but
it’s worth a check as you rinse them.
Begin preparing the rice so it’s ready when the lentils are cooked. Or you can serve with roti if
you like.
Chop your onion, and mince the garlic and ginger.
Chop the tomato and set aside.
Wash your coriander and spring onion. Chop for garnish and set aside.
Heat oil on high for a minute or two.
Add ginger, garlic and onion, and stir fry on high until the onion is a little brown on the edges, 1-2
minutes.
Stir in the salt and stock powder and mustard seed. Turn the heat down to medium (6 out of 10
on our stove), and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
Note: The stove’s temperature will remain at medium (6/10) for the rest of the cooking process,
and you will stir occasionally.
Add tomatoes. Stir, cover with lid and cook for 4 minutes.
After 4 minutes, stir in the lentils, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
After cooking for 5 minutes, add half a cup of water and the bok choy, cover with lid and cook for
5 more minutes.
When the 5 minutes are up, stir in 1 more cups of water, as the water will begin to decrease as
you cook. Keep an eye on the dal at this stage, and make sure it doesn’t catch.
Continue cooking on medium until the dal is ready, perhaps another 10 minutes. Turn off the
stove and sprinkle the chopped coriander and/or spring onion on top.
Serve:
Serve with rice or bread
Add some Indian chutney or pickle (achar) or hot sauce if you fancy it.