A watercolour of soft yellow split pea dal with a dark tarka of fried onion and cumin poured over
Generated with OpenAI gpt-image-1
Adapted from Chana dal

Split pea dal with turmeric

An established dish converted to shelf-stable ingredients. Every substitution is documented below.

How long it keeps

About 6 months, set by Vegetable oil (sunflower or rapeseed).

Indicative, for planning a build before you buy. The answer for a pack you already own is the best before date printed on it, and that only holds if it has been stored as the label says.

Serves
4
Burners
1
Pans
1
Water
1.2 L
Active
10 min
Total
60 min

Ingredients

The same structure as the red lentil dal but with a pulse that holds its shape longer and takes three times as long, which makes it a different dish rather than a slower version of the same one.

  1. Split peas into the pan with 1 litre of water, the turmeric and the salt. Brought to the boil, skimmed, then simmered 45 to 55 minutes until soft.
  2. While it cooks, the tarka. Small pan or a corner of the same one once the peas are done: oil until it shimmers, dried onion until it is properly golden, then garlic and chilli for thirty seconds, then cumin for ten.
  3. Pour the whole lot into the dal and put the lid on for a minute. The noise it makes going in is the point, and trapping the steam puts the aroma into the pulses rather than the air.
  4. Lemon juice off the heat.

Turmeric goes in at the start with the water, not in the tarka. It needs the long cook to lose its raw edge and it colours the pulses as they soften.

Serves 4.

What this was adapted from

Chana dal: the Indian dish of split pulses simmered soft and finished with spices bloomed in hot fat

  • chana dal, split Bengal gram → green or yellow split peas

    Split peas cook to a similar texture in a similar time and are what a British supermarket sells. They are milder and slightly sweeter, so the tarka needs to carry more of the flavour.