My friend Mahendra Motibhai - Patel from Fiji gave me some masala powder. The package is great and the spice mixture smells highly aromatic and fresh. I love Indian food, I tried to make up a few recipes with the Motibhai masala, and I was particularly pleased with this one:
Yes, dahl is usually a soup and the lentils are small, but I had some green organic lentils which I wanted to use, and I was looking for a thicker consistency.
I sautéed for 30 seconds half tsp of turmeric and half tsp of cumin seeds with a little rice bran oil. Then I added a finely chopped onion and one tbsp of masala powder. Then the lentils, which had been rinsed, and then soaked for 30 minutes. I covered with water and added a big hot whole chili. After 30 minutes I added a little salt to taste and, just because I felt like it, a tbsp of butter. It was perfect, warm, fragrant, and mildly hot.
Serve with basmati rice.