Lentils with garlic butter (masar dal) - Recipe Problem

[Josho]

Julie Sahni has a recipe for "Lentils with Garlic Butter" that appears all over the 'net (sometimes credited to other authors). It calls for 1.5 cups of pink or yellow lentils simmered in 5 cups of water -- with added turmeric -- until tender, and then pureed in the pot. The recipe continues from there.

I just finished doing this, and I'm greatly confused. I ended up with nearly 6 cups -- almost all water, of course. The lentils are certainly cooked through, but rather than a lentil dish, this is like an extremely thin soup.

Is this the way the dish is supposed to be? It seems unservable, but it's such a simple recipe and I can't imagine where I might've gone wrong.

[SobaAddict70]

Did you cover the pot while cooking?

I've never prepared any of Julie's recipes, but when I make dal, I almost always let things simmer with the pot uncovered. As the water evaporates, the mixture will thicken.

[Josho]

I covered it partially, as the recipe called for. I'm going to simmer it awhile longer and reduce it...but it really seems wrong to me.

[SobaAddict70]

Try cooking it uncovered. Make sure the heat is on low though. Medium-low to low seems best.

[Jenni]

FWIW, dal texture varies in India. Some people do make quite thin dal, others thick. It depends on personal preference, regional variations, what particular dal dish you are making, how you feel on any given day and what you are serving the dal with. Dal is very often eaten mixed with rice and it adds moisture and flavour. You can see how making thin dal would make it go further and thus make it economical to feed a big crowd.

I also simmer dal uncovered, but I don't measure out water. I add what I feel it needs and adjust as necessary to get the texture I want as the cooking goes on.

One thing I will mention - different people are particular about the texture of the dal in terms of how cooked they like it. And masoor dal is certainly one of the quickest cooking dals so it's easy to ruin it - depending on how you like it of course

[Lisa Shock]

Here's a version of the recipe that gives instructions to boil the lentils and describes various stages of texture in the dish as it's cooked.

[LindaK]

It sounds like a reduction problem. Maybe adjusting your heat?

I'm looking at her instructions in "Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking." It calls for 1.5 cups of lentils to 4.5 cups of water, plus the tumeric. Instructions are to cook over medium heat for 40 minutes, partially covered. Then cook over low heat, covered, for another 25 minutes. End result: "there should be 4-1/2 cups puree; if not, add enough water to bring to that quantity." The recipe goes from there.

[SylviaLovegren]

Julie Sahni has a recipe for "Lentils with Garlic Butter" that appears all over the 'net (sometimes credited to other authors). It calls for 1.5 cups of pink or yellow lentils simmered in 5 cups of water -- with added turmeric -- until tender, and then pureed in the pot. The recipe continues from there.

I just finished doing this, and I'm greatly confused. I ended up with nearly 6 cups -- almost all water, of course. The lentils are certainly cooked through, but rather than a lentil dish, this is like an extremely thin soup.

Is this the way the dish is supposed to be? It seems unservable, but it's such a simple recipe and I can't imagine where I might've gone wrong.

I've never used her recipe but in cooking lentils I start with 1 cup lentils to 2 cups water, then watch carefully, adding water as wanted. The 1:2 ratio is usually way too thick, but it's much easier to thin things down than to thicken them up.