Priya Krishna’s Most Basic Dal
New York Times food writer Priya Krishna joins us 🍽 this week on Your Mama’s Kitchen. She is a brilliant writer, culinary superstar, cookbook author, and proud daughter.
Her acclaimed cookbook called Indianish: Recipes and Antics From a Modern American Family is an homage to how her Indian born mother churned out mouth-watering meals that reached back to their ancestral roots while also embracing American flavors from Texas where Priya was raised.
We talk about the flavors that shaped her childhood, how her mom’s cooking taught her to embrace her identity, and the beautiful, complicated relationship we al have with the kitchens we grow up in. 💬✨ It’s a story about food, family, and finding yourself — one delicious bite at a time.
Listen, and as always, let us know whatcha think!
Ingredients⅓cup (50g) masoor dal (orange lentils)
1½cups (360ml) water
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1tablespoon fresh lime juice
1tablespoon ghee or olive oil
1teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
1dried chiles
½ pinch red chili powder
¼ cup (.15oz) chopped fresh cilantro
½ pinch asafetida (optional)
MAKE THE DAL:
In a large pot over high heat, combine the lentils, turmeric, salt, and 3 cups water and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-high, insert a large long-handled spoon into the pot (to break the surface tension and prevent boiling over), and cook with the spoon still inserted until the lentils are soft and a little mushy, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes.(Alternatively, in an electric multi-cooker like an Instant Pot, combine the lentils, turmeric, salt, and 3 cups water and cook on manual high pressure for 10 minutes, then allow the pressure to release naturally.)
Add the lime juice and set aside.
MAKE THE SEASONING:
In a small pan or butter warmer over medium-high heat, warm the ghee (or oil). Once the ghee melts (or the oil begins to shimmer), add the cumin seeds and cook until they start to sputter and brown, which should take seconds. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dried chiles, red chile powder, and asafetida (if using).
Add the seasoning to the cooked lentils and mix thoroughly.
Garnish with the cilantro before serving.
Michele’s Kitchen Notes
Love that this recipe is tried and true. I’m so excited to shop for it this summer and brew up a delicious bowl with FRESH cilantro! “Swadisht Bhojan Karein”
A NOTE FROM PRIYA: (from her book Indian-ish)
You'll find this dal as a building block of dinnertime in many North Indian homes. It's a simple soup that cooks quickly and, when served with rice or roti (perhaps with a side of kachumber, page 107), makes for a hearty, complete meal. It's almost a rite of passage for Indian kids to hate eating dal when they are younger, and then to eventually realize as adults that it is truly the superior soup, and way more com- forting and complex than they remembered. There are loads of ways my mom makes dal, but this is her ode to the dish in its purest, most elemental form. The key is the chhonk-the ghee-coated chiles and spices tossed in right at the end (see my ode to chhonk on page 32). You'll want to make and add the chhonk just before you eat to ensure you'll taste the strongest ka-pow of spices and richness.
