Weeknight Daal From Zaynab Issa
This recipe is from Zaynab's upcoming book, Third Culture Cooking, out April 1st, 2025. The recipe was originally featured in Cherry Bombe's Love Issue.
The daal I grew up eating on weeknights is most certainly not the kind of daal that I would make on a weeknight now. I don’t have a pressure cooker and I refuse to purchase one—the old-school ones scare me and the electric ones take up too much counter space. To enjoy this spicy wholesome lentil stew on a weeknight, I use red lentils only, instead of the traditional 50-50 blend of red lentils and split chickpeas I grew up seeing. Not only do they cook much faster than other varieties, but red lentils are also a lot easier to source at your average grocery store, making this labor of love truly weeknight-friendly. If you’re looking for more protein, one of my lovely cross-testers suggested stirring in greens to wilt and poaching eggs directly onto the daal before serving.
Photo by Graydon Herriott
INGREDIENTS
Makes 4 to 6 servings
1½ cups (285 grams) red lentils
¼ cup (60 milliliters) olive oil*
1 large yellow onion,* thinly sliced
3 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided, plus more as needed
5 garlic cloves,* finely grated
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder*
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons double-concentrated tomato paste*
6 cups (1.4 liters) chicken broth,* plus more as needed
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice,* plus wedges for serving
Long-grain rice or crusty bread, for serving
Carrot Sambharo (recipe follows), for serving, optional
*INSTEAD OF . . .
Olive oil, use vegetable oil
Yellow onion, use red onion
Garlic cloves, use 2-inch piece ginger, grated
Kashmiri red chili powder, use ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper plus ½ teaspoon paprika
Tomato paste, use ½ cup canned crushed tomatoes or 2 large Roma tomatoes, chopped
Chicken broth, use beef broth or water
Lemon juice, use lime juice
METHOD
Put the lentils in a fine-mesh sieve. Rinse under cool water until the water runs mostly clear. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and turmeric. Stir to coat the onions in the spices and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the potatoes and tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until the tomato paste is darkened in color, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, rinsed lentils, and remaining 2 teaspoons of salt and stir. Bring the lentil mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are very tender and the curry is almost creamy, 30 to 35 minutes. If the broth has absorbed quickly, add more as needed. Stir in the lemon juice. Taste for salt and adjust the seasoning to your preference.
Serve over long-grain rice or with a piece of crusty bread for dipping, with lemon wedges for squeezing.
Store leftover daal in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Reheat in a pot over medium heat until simmering, adding water as needed to reach its original consistency, or in the microwave in 1-minute increments until warm.
Carrot Sambharo
INGREDIENTS
Makes 1½ cups (about 340 grams)
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch-long matchsticks
2 to 3 green bird’s-eye chilis,* halved lengthwise
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil*
2 curry leaves (optional)
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds (optional)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice,* plus more as needed
*INSTEAD OF . . .
Bird’s-eye chilis, use thinly sliced jalapeño
Vegetable oil, use any neutral oil
Lemon juice, use lime juice
METHOD
Put the carrot sticks in a medium bowl, add the chilis, and sprinkle with the salt to season and draw out some of the moisture. Set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a small pot over medium heat with the curry leaves and mustard seeds, if using. Once the oil is nice and warm and the mustard seeds are just beginning to pop, add the tomato paste, turmeric, and garlic. Stir everything together and cook until the tomato paste gets a little darker and the oil is tinted red, 5 minutes or so.
Add the tomato paste mixture to the salted carrots and chilis, squeeze over the lemon juice, and toss everything together. The salty liquid released from the carrots will mix with the lemon juice and tomato paste to create the perfect viscosity to coat the carrots. If things are looking a little thick, just add a splash of water and mix until the carrots are coated.
Taste for salt and lemon juice and add more to your preference. I usually transfer it to a container to chill in the fridge for a few hours, but you can definitely eat it immediately. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
From Third Culture Cooking by Zaynab Issa, out April 1st, 2025. Reprinted by permission of Abrams.
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