Yellow split peas are very prevalent in the Indian communities of Guyana, Fiji, Suriname, Jamaica, South Africa, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, and are popular amongst Indians in the United States as well as India. There, it is referred to generically as dal and is the most popular dal. It is prepared similarly to dals found in India, but may be used in recipes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal
Today we have another version of dhal from the diaspora. Once again, there’s not much to distinguish it from Indian versions, but it’s still fun to see how minor differences affect flavors.
Besides yellow split peas being the preferred form of dhal versus the toor dhal that is common in India, the biggest difference I notice is that this recipe has a lot more hot peppers than any of my previous dhal recipes. I believe that that is somewhat the result of how I make my recipes rather than a true reflection of what you will commonly find in South Africa. I take a number of recipes (I aim for at least 10-12, usually the first page of Google search results) and average out the quantities of ingredients. If an ingredient only shows up in one or two recipes it gets discarded or relegated to the optional list. Otherwise, I use the mean average amount (rounded to a reasonable kitchen measurement). For the most part this works great, but every once in a while you get that one recipe that departs significantly enough from the rest to skew the results. Sometimes I see that and adjust it. In this case I let it stand. Having an extra spicy version of dhal isn’t the end of the world. Feel free to adjust the quantity of chilies to your taste.
One unusual trick I use in this recipe is grating the tomato. This is an easy way to basically make a coarse puree out of fresh tomatoes. Cut your tomato in half, squeeze out the seeds if you like, and then rub the cut side on the grater until all that’s left is the skin!
In researching all these recipes it’s been interesting to see which countries seem to have pressure cookers as common equipment in every kitchen and which do not. Almost every Indian dal recipe I looked at used the pressure cooker as the preferred cooking method, with essentially a footnote about cooking in a regular pan working but taking longer. Guyanese dhal recipes also largely used pressure cookers, but the other countries I’ve looked at seem to treat the pressure cooker as the footnote. I’m curious as to why use of pressure cookers seem to have spread from India to one of the diaspora countries but not others. More recent immigrants? Income level of the average food blogger from said countries? I suppose it really just boils down to where Pressure cooker manufacturers have put energy into marketing.
One of the recipes I looked at called for serving dhal with dumplings. I didn’t go that route this time, but I thought it sounded like a cool twist, so I included them in the optional list. Their dumpling recipe can be found here.
Since I started going down this dal rabbit hole I’ve bought fresh curry leaves from Amazon three times. Two of them have been the Rani brand, while the other was another brand that is currently not listed on the site. Although I like Rani brand for dals and dried spices, I will probably not be ordering fresh curry leaves from them again, as both purchases have been obviously old product- I had to throw out about half the bag of this most recent batch, which still left me more than enough for this recipe, but I don’t know how long the rest of them will last. The other brand I purchased were in much better shape, and lasted close to two months in the fridge. Fresh leaves are actually palatable once cooked, but as they get older they become tough and hard to chew, similar to trying to eat a bay leaf (but with a more pleasant flavor). All this to say, the link to curry leaves in the recipe is the brand I will likely try next time and is included for your convenience, not as an endorsement.
South African Dhal
Serves: 4
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 1:45-2:45
Total: 2-3 hours, plus soaking time.
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
1 ⅓ cups yellow split peas
OR
1 ⅓ cup red lentils
4 cups water
1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup cooking oil
2 generous teaspoons ghee
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 ½ sprigs curry leaves
2 small green chilies, chopped
4-5 dried red chilies, broken in half
1 ⅜ teaspoon cumin seed
OR
⅞ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon mustard seed
¾ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
⅔ teaspoon garam masala
1 Tablespoon Kashmiri red chili powder
2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 medium tomato, grated
1 ½ Tablespoons cilantro, chopped, plus more to garnish
1 small spring onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons butter
Optional:
Steamed dumplings, to serve
2 small bay leaves
¾ teaspoon turmeric in the braise
Pick over your split peas, removing any bad peas, stones, or other foreign objects. Rinse until water runs clear, then cover with cool water and soak for at least 30 minutes.
Drain peas and place in a deep pot with 4 cups of water, turmeric and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until peas have broken down into a soft, smooth puree. 1-2 hours. Add small amounts of additional hot water as needed to keep the peas submerged. (Red lentils will only take 20-30 minutes to cook)
Heat oil and ghee in a frying pan and add the onion, ginger, curry leaves, green and dried chilies, and whole spices. Sauté over medium heat until the onion is golden.
Add the garam masala, chili powder, and ground cumin (if using), along with the garlic. Fry for a minute, then add the tomato. Continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes until the tomato is cooked. Add the mixture to the cooked peas. Add additional water if needed, and simmer for 20 minutes or so.
Stir in 1 ½ Tablespoons cilantro and green onion. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add additional water if too thick or continue to simmer until it thickens to your desired consistency. (Keep in mind that dhal will thicken as it cools). Taste and add salt if needed.
Remove from heat and add lemon juice and butter. Cover for about 5 minutes, until the butter melts, then mix well. Garnish with more cilantro and serve with rice, roti, bread, or biriyani.
Lorin cooks Legumes 