Bangladeshi Red Lentils

I love all of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks. The one I am reading now is At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In her chapter on Dal, Ms. Jaffrey explains that Indians eat dal every day in some form. There are many different kinds, made with lentils, a variety of dried beans, chickpeas or split peas. They are all very appealing to me.  So last night I tried Bangladeshi Red Lentils because I had all the ingredients, red lentils cook quickly and the recipe was simple. The results were delicious. I served it with leftover roast chicken, rice and veggies. We each had a small bowl of dal to spoon over the reheated leftovers. Voila, an Indian twist to plain, old roast chicken. Halved avocados with a bit of dressing served as salad.

1 cup red lentils, washed and drained
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1 medium onion, half finely chopped and half cut into fine rings
3/4 tsp. salt
3 tbl. olive oi or canola oil or ghee (clarified butter)
2 cloves garlic, cut into thin slices
2 dried hot chilies, each broken in half

Put the red lentils, 3 1/2 cups water, turmeric and the chopped onions into a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Cover partially, turn heat to low and cook 45 minutes or until the lentils are very tender. Add the salt and mix in.

Pour the oil into a small frying pan set over medium heat. When hot, put in the sliced onions and stir a few times.  Add the garlic and chilis. Stir and fry until the onions and garlic have turned a rich golden-red color. Pour the contents of the frying pan into the pot with the dal. Stir to mix.

Serves 4-5