Tadka Daal, One Pot
Red lentils cooked soft, then hit with hot oil and spice at the end.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 116
- protein
- 19 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Red or yellow lentils | 1 cup | masoor daal; split lentils only, whole ones take forever |
|---|---|---|
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp | stands in for the fresh diced onion |
| Tomato powder or sun-dried tomato bits | 2 tbsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Oil | 3 tbsp | in a leakproof dropper bottle |
| Mustard seed | 1 tsp | |
| Cumin seed | 1 tsp | |
| Dried red chilies | 2 | or 1/4 tsp chili flakes |
| Ground turmeric | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic granules | 1 tbsp | |
| Ground ginger | 1 tsp |
Method
- Put the lentils, onion flakes, tomato, salt, and 600 ml of water in the pot. Bring it to a boil.
- Drop to the lowest flame that still bubbles. Cook 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing catches on the bottom. Add a splash of water if it goes past thick into paste.
- The daal is done when the lentils have collapsed and you cannot pick out individual ones. Pull it off the heat and set the lid on it.
- Wipe out your mug or lid, or use the pot lid as a shallow pan. Heat the oil over the flame until a mustard seed dropped in cracks right away.
- Add the mustard and cumin seed and the chilies. Ten seconds, until the seeds pop. Kill the heat, then stir in the turmeric, garlic, and ginger off the flame so they do not burn.
- Pour the whole thing into the daal and stir once. Eat it as is or over instant rice.
Daal is one of the few one-pot camp dinners that gets its flavor from technique rather than from a packet. Split red lentils break down on their own in about twenty-five minutes with no soaking, which is the whole reason this works on a stove instead of at home. The tadka at the end is not garnish. Frying whole spices in hot oil pulls out compounds that plain simmering never touches, so a pot of bland lentils turns into dinner in about thirty seconds.
The changes from a home version are all about what survives a pack. Fresh onion, tomato, garlic, and ginger become flakes, powder, and granules, which rehydrate in the simmering water anyway. The ground spices go into the oil off the heat because turmeric and garlic powder scorch in seconds at frying temperature and turn bitter. Keep the fat: it carries the spice and it is most of the calories here.
Packing
Lentils, onion, tomato, and salt premixed in one bag. Whole spices and ground spices in a second small bag so you are not fishing for them with hot oil going. Oil in its own bottle inside a ziplock.
Variations
- Cook instant rice in a second pot, or spoon the daal over a tortilla and skip the rice entirely.
- A tablespoon of coconut milk powder stirred in at the end makes it richer and cuts the chili.
- Backpacking version: dehydrate the finished daal at home and rehydrate it with boiling water in ten minutes.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/chai-pani-daal