This beautiful bright yellow dal is a crowd pleaser. With warming spice from the cinnamon sticks, pops of brightness from the cardamom seeds, and toasted coconut it’s a perfect winter meal. I’m thrilled to be working my way through Richa Hingle’s cookbook and this is one I’ve already made a handful of times, with only a few minor tweaks including cooking the split peas in the Instant Pot to speed things up. Serve this over rice and alongside your choice of veg – it’s shown here with a cauliflower and carrot dish from the same cookbook.
Ingredients
For the split peas
- 1 1/2 cups yellow split peas, soaked for 1 hour
- 3/4 tsp. turmeric
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
For the tarka mixture
- 3 tsp. avocado oil
- 1/3 cup coconut flakes
- 3/4 tsp. cumin seeds
- 2 cinnamon sticks (*See Note)
- Seeds from 3 cardamom pods
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 cloves
- 4 dried red chiles
- 1 1/2 tbsp. grated ginger
- 3 tbsp. raw cashews, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp. golden raisins
Directions
- Drain and rinse the split peas, then combine them with 2 1/2 cups of water, turmeric, salt, and sugar in the Instant Pot. Pressure cook for 15 minutes and let slow release for 10 before fully depressuring. (*See Note)
- While the split peas are cooking, prepare the coconut and tarka. In a small skillet or frying pan over medium heat, heat 1 tsp. of oil. Add the coconut flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until golden. Remove the coconut flakes and set aside.
- Add another 2 tsp. of oil to the pan and once hot, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, cardamom seeds, bay leaves, and cloves. Cook for about a minute. Break the red chiles in half and add them to the pan, along with the ginger, cashews, and raisins. Cook for one more minute, until everything is fragrant. Remove from heat.
- Add half of the coconut flakes and all of the tarka mixture to the yellow split peas and stir. Wait at least 5 minutes before removing the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves to serve. You can also keep the dal covered or at a simmer for longer, which will intensify the flavors. Garnish with remaining coconut flakes before serving.
Notes
- Note about whole spices: If you cannot find or do not have whole spices like cinnamon sticks, cloves, or cardamom pods, you can substitute smaller amounts of ground spices – start with 1/8 tsp. per pod or stick that you’re replacing. However, these will quickly burn in the process of making a tarka so I recommend adding them just before removing the tarka from the heat.
- Note about cooking yellow split peas: This can be done on the stovetop by combining the peas with 3 1/2 cups of water and the other ingredients and cooking for 30-40 minutes, partially covered.
