1. Take a saucepan and place it over medium heat.
2. Now add the soaked dal, water, tomatoes, green chillies and turmeric.
3. Cook them until the dal becomes soft and smooth.
4. Now take another sauce pan and pour a little amount of oil in it and heat it gently.
5. Add cumin seeds , mustard seeds, asafetida, dried red chilies and cook for about 2 minutes while stirring constantly until they acquire a slight brownish colour.
6. Now add the curry leaves, garlic and red onion into the mixture and cook them until they become soft and crisp.
7. Now pour the contents of this saucepan to the one in which the dal was being cooked and add some salt and ghee/clarified butter and cook them for about 5 minutes.

Serve hot with steamed rice or Rotis.

Arhar Dal- Bengali Style:

Arhar Dal or Toor Dal as it is most commonly known in certain parts of India has been one of India’s staple foods. This simple recipe that I am going to share with you guys forms an integral part of every Indian cuisine. The unique thing about this recipe is that the usage of this lentil provides a fixed amount of protein along with other nutrients making it a cheap and healthy option for everyone. The process of preparation of Arhar Dal varies with each household and i am presenting to you the Bengali way of making Arhar Dal/ Toor Dal.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Arhar Dal/Toor Dal/Split Pigeon Pea Dal
• 1 cup of Water
• 1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 tbsp Mustard Oil/Sunflower Oil
• 2 Green Chillies
• 1 Onion Large-Finely Chopped
• A pinch of Hing or Asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt To Taste
• 4 Cloves of Garlic
• 2 Tomatoes Finely Chopped
• 1 tbsp Curry Leaves

How to Prepare Arhar Dal- Bengali Style:

1. Take the Dal and rinse it and soak it in water for about 1 hour.
2. Take a pressure cooker and put the soaked Dal, pour some water, turmeric powder and some salt and cook them until you hear about 4-5 whistles.
3. Now take a saucepan and add a little oil and allow it to boil.
4. Now add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves, bay leaf, dry red chilly and hing / asafetida and sauté them for some time until the oil gets aromatic and then add the chopped onions to them.
5. Sprinkle some salt over them and add the garlic paste and finely chopped tomatoes until the mixture becomes tangy.
6. Now add the cooked Dal into this mixture along with all its water and cook them until it the Dal attains the desired proportion.

Arhar Dal- Punjabi Style:

The Punjabi Style of making Arhar Dal is combined with a generous use of ghee/ clarified butter along with bold flavours and masala. So, it is not so healthy but I should confess that it is very tasty and can be served with rotis, chapattis and phulkas. The unique thing about making this simple Arhar Dal recipe in the Punjabi way is that here the pressure cooked Dal is first mixed with sautéed ginger, green chilli and onion and the ghee tempered garlic and spices are poured over it only at the time of serving.