Black Daal

From the family of actor Anil Kapoor (he hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionare in Slumdog Millionaire) comes this yummy lentil recipe. Man I love Indian food. I wonder if Q can make chicken tikka masala for me again soon, and maybe I'll make this one. . . . as soon as I can figure out where to find asafetida and find someone else to touch it so my fingers don't get all stinky.

Serves 4

• 1 cup split urad dal (black lentils)
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 green Serrano chiles, halved lengthwise
• Pinch of asafetida
• Coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 (2-inch) piece fresh peeled ginger, juilienned
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, whisked
• 2 tablespoons Ghee
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• Naan, for serving

1. Place lentils in a large bowl. Cover with water and let stand overnight.
2. Drain lentils and add to a large saucepan along with 3 cups water, 1 sliced onion, chiles, and asafetida; season with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until lentils are very tender, about 30 minutes.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add remaining onion and cook, stirring, until soft. Add ginger and garlic; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, coriander, ground cumin, and chili powder. Cook, stirring, until tomatoes are softened and mixture is fragrant, about 5 minutes.
4. Drain lentils, reserving cooking water. Add lentils to skillet along with enough of the reserved cooking water to make a thick gravy-like consistency. Let simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in heavy cream until well combined; remove from heat.
5. In a small saucepan, heat ghee until hot. Carefully add cumin seeds and cook until they stop popping. Carefully pour mixture over lentils (it will sizzle) and mix to combine. Serve immediately with naan.