MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Dal Curry - Dal with Coconut Milk
 Categories: Indian, Curry, Beans, Chilies
      Yield: 6 Servings
 
      1 c  Skinned toovar dal or
           - yellow-split peas
    1/8 ts Ground turmeric
      1 tb Shallots, peeled, minced
      1 ts Ground cumin seeds
      4    Whole fresh, hot green
           - chillies, slit down their
           - middles
      4 tb Vegetable oil or
      2 tb Coconut oil and
      2 tb Ghee
    1/2 ts Whole black mustard seeds
     10    Curry leaves
      2    Whole, hot, dried red
           - chillies broken up into
           - 4 pieces each
      2 tb Peeled, sliced shallots
      2 cl Garlic, peeled, minced
      1 md Tomato, chopped
    3/4 ts Salt
  1 1/4 c  Tinned or fresh, unsweetened
           - coconut milk
 
  Pick over the dal and wash it in several changes of water.  Drain. 
  Put in a heavy based pan and add 3 3/4 cups of water as well as the
  turmeric. Bring to a boil.  Turn the heat to low and cover, leaving
  the lid slightly ajar. Simmer the dal for about 45 minutes. Now put
  in the chopped shallots and ground cumin. Stir, cover in the same
  way as before and cook for another 15 minutes.  Add the green
  chillies and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the dal is tender.  If
  the dal seems too thick at any point, add up to 1/2 cup of boiling
  water.  The dal, at this stage, should be like a thick, paste like
  soup. Leave on a very low heat as you complete the final step.

  Heat the oil in a small frying pan over a medium flame. When hot,
  put in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to
  pop, (this takes just a few seconds), put in the curry leaves and
  the red chillies. When the red chillies darken (this happens
  almost immediately), put in all the sliced shallots and garlic.
  Stir and fry until the shallots turn a reddish-brown colour.  Now
  add the tomato pieces. Stir and fry until they soften. Pour the
  entire contents of the small frying pan into the dal. Add the salt
  and mix.  Add the coconut milk and stir in. The dal may be cooked
  several hours ahead of time and then reheated.

  From: Sherree Johansson

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