Tastefully Vegan
There are many theories about should people eat meat or not. For those who have chosen meatless diet, dining in restaurants can be quite a little adventure and splendid offer can be pretty hard to find. Indian cuisine has a vast selection of traditional meals in this area that are also colorful and pleasant, a real refreshment with an invitation to taste it.
One meal that fits into this category is Tarka Daal (also spelled dal or dhal, pronounciate: [d̪aːl]). Verbal root of word dāl comes from Sanskrit word dal and it means “to split”. In the Indian subcontinent, daal is a term for dried, split pulses (lentil, peas, beans) and they are an important part of the cuisine. In comparison to other plants, they are high in protein and therefore good as a substitute for meat protein.
Royal Spice offers classic Tarka daal tempered with fried garlic and onions. Tempered simply means a process of cooking that combines two ingredients of completely different temperatures, that are slowly combined and raised to the same temperature. It also means to bring ingredients close to room temperature and that way shorten the cooking time.
Preparation of daal is very simple and it starts with boiling pulses (usually lentils) in water with some spices and adding fried garnish like garlic and onion at the end of the cooking process. Tarka comes from Hindi word taṛaknā which means “to season”. It is a cooking technique where spices are added to very hot oil which brings out their intense flavor and gorgeous aroma. Even though Tarka is usually done at the end of the cooking process it can also be done at the beginning or both at the beginning and an end.
So, playing with spices and cooking techniques can lead to the most tasteful dishes that are also filled with nutrients that are necessary for the healthy body. Indian cuisine is known for its spicy food and it is no surprise that Eastern world used spices for commerce as well, centuries ago.
Enjoy!