Curry in a Hurry Without Worry

(Yes, this is a picture of the recipe book, and not the food. The book is prettier, trust me.)

Have you ever had one of those days? You know, when you get home from Kendo and you're dog tired and starving and it's almost 10pm? And all you have in the kitchen is half a bag of lentils and half a can of tomatoes? Ok, so maybe that's just me, but anyone can appreciate a dinner you can put together when time and ingredients are lacking. That is why I make Dal. I have this bright little paperback cookbook called Curries Without Worries. I normally cook Thai curry (I know, I know, I'll get around to posting that recipe someday), but this book is devoted to basic Indian recipes. I'll admit I haven't gotten around to some of the more effortful dishes from it - Roghanjosh: the ultimate Kashmiri lamb dish, for instance - but there are two pages of my copy that are well worn. One of them is the primer on how to cook long-grained rice (basmati, etc), and the other is the page labeled "Delicious Everyday DAL."

Dal is essentially lentil curry. All you need are lentils, some type of vegetable, water, and spices. It's so warm! So fragrant! So tasty and spiced and comfort food-y! You don't know how many times lentils have rescued me when I'm saying to myself "Oh my GOD there is nothing in the kitchen to eat. I am SO hungry . . . man I really don't want to go to the grocery store. I'm so tired! Wheat thins are not dinner!"

Delicious Everyday DAL
adapted from Curries Without Worries by Sudha Koul
(4 servings - ok, so I ate half -, total time: 40 minutes)

1 cup lentils
6 cups water
1/2 to 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground ginger
S&P to taste
chili powder to taste

1. Bring all ingredients to a boil over high heat.

2. Reduce heat to low, simmer for ~30 minutes, until lentils are tender.

3. Yes, that's really it.

A few notes: the original recipe calls for more authentic ingredients, like real tomatoes, fresh ginger, coriander, and ghee instead of butter. I'm sure it tastes great like that, but it tastes great like this too. You can serve this with rice or flatbread; most recently I served it with garlic toast, but that's just me.