Dal curry

Ingredients:
1 cup red lentils
chopped cilantro
1 chopped tomato
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 curry leaves
curry powder
salt
chillie powder optional
1 Tbsp oil
1/4 can coconut milk

Add oil to a saucepan, heat. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves and COVER POT (the seeds pop like popcorn). You will smell a roasting smell, which are the mustard seeds. Once these turn black, add tomato, onion and garlic. Cook this mixture down, so the flavors are concentrated (meaning cook the water out of it, until it's semi-dryish). Meanwhile in a separate pot, boil the red lentils in about 2 cups water, adding more water as needed. be careful as lentils tend to bubble over if not watched and stirred.

When lentils are cooked, add them to the cooking tomatoes/onions etc, and stir well. Add curry powder, coconut milk, and a little water if mixture is too thick (this dish is like a thick soup). Add salt to taste, and if you want it hot add chillie powder too. Add chopped cilantro at the end of cooking and let cook for no more than one minute.

Voila, dal curry. Serve with rice or naan.

Niki's notes: Red lentils are actually orange in the bag and yellow when cooked.
I made this dish simple without many chilies etc because I ate it with my biryani (see below) which was hot.

the tomatoes etc cooking: