Lentils with Curried Tarka

I’ve always considered lentils to be just about the most ascetic foodstuff on earth, and–cooked alone–they actually taste a lot like earth. They’re not an item that elicits a great deal of excitement from your average eater. When was the last time you heard someone say, “Every time I see lentils on a menu, I just have to order them?”

But treat them right, and lentils will return the favor. A strong vinaigrette in a lentil salad or some smoky bacon in lentil soup will really “elevate these simple legumes” to borrow Mark Bittman’s turn of phrase.

Here the extra oomph comes from curry powder, and while my first experience with this dish was a little mixed, I’m still ready to give it a hearty endorsement as a good simple supper for a cold winter’s day.

I’ve produced the recipe below verbatim and have only one note on the actual cooking: In regard to the lentils, “picked over” means sifting through the lentils with your fingers and removing anything that isn’t a lentil or any lentils that look particularly sub-par.  The easiest way to do this is rinse the lentils using a colander placed in a bowl. Cover the lentils with a few inches of water, sift, let rest, and then remove anything that floats.

Oh, also: “Tarka” refers to the type of curry/cilantro sauce used here.

This dish was cooked totally by my roommate and CSA-conspirator Alek, and he was also its harshest critic. I liked the end result quite a bit, but he found it a little lacking in chutzpah. Consider using more salt than is called for. We did after an initial tasting, and it helped.  I will still admit, though, that  it was a little monotone as a stand-alone dish. I would have loved to have it with a simple piece of fish. (For some reason, fish and lentils are a really good combination.) That said, it is still totally serviceable on it’s own.

Our operating theory at the moment is also that the quality of the dish hinges directly on the quality of the curry powder you’re using. While Alek bought the good stuff fresh from Kalustyan’s, there are approximately two bajillion blends of curry powder out there, and we think we wound up with one that we just didn’t like all that much. So if you’ve got a blend that you know touches your tra-la-la, this recipe should be a safe bet.

But even if you try a new curry powder and don’t love it, Alek came up with some lentil triage: Reheat the lentils in a sauce pan  and add in a can of tomatoes and an appropriate amount of hot sauce. The dish loses a bit of its curry-ness this way but gains a depth of flavor that is nice if it was seeming a bit bland.

Lentils With Curried Tarka
from the New York Times

1 cup dried brown lentils, washed and picked over
2 1/2 cups water, coconut milk or vegetable stock, more if needed
4 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1 cup chopped scallions
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon curry powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves.

1. In a medium saucepan, combine lentils and liquid and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn heat down to medium-low so that mixture bubbles gently, cover partly and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are just tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Add liquid as necessary to keep them a little soupy.

2. Put butter in a skillet over medium heat until it is melted and foamy (or shimmering if using oil). Add scallions and lemon zest and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cook and stir for another minute or so. Add a large pinch of salt, some pepper and the cilantro leaves. Cook mixture (the tarka) for just another 30 seconds or so, then turn off heat.

3. When lentils are cooked to desired tenderness, stir scallion mixture into the lentils. Dal should be moist but not soupy; if it is not, add more water and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve.