Dhall Curry

A friend from Malaysia recently visited Beijing and she brought me a packet of yellow split peas! Split peas can be found here, but I would have to go to specialty gourmet markets and they rarely have them in stock. 

I love curries and that's one thing I sorely miss in Beijing. There are several nice Indian restaurants in the city, but boy are they expensive. It's understandable as spices and herbs such as garam masala and curry leaves are impossible to find here. 

Dhall, obviously, goes great with freshly baked naan but a nice loaf of crusty bread does just as well too.

Dhall Curry Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 cup of yellow split peas
• 1 small carrot, diced
• 1 small potato, diced
• 1 cup of chopped shallots or red onion
• 1 green chilli, cut into large slices
• 2 slices of ginger, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 cups of water

Seasoning and oils

• 1 tbsp of ghee plus 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp whole mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 2 cloves
• sea salt to taste

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine and moisten spices (mustard seeds, turmeric, cloves and curry powder) with a few tablespoons of water. I do this so it won't burn when I dry-fry them later. 
2. In a heavy pot, heat ghee and olive oil over medium-low heat.
3. Sauté shallots, ginger and garlic until onions are translucent, about 2-3 mins. Add in spices and continue sauteing until mixture is fragrant, about 2 mins.
4. Add water, split peas, potatoes and carrots and give a good stir.
5. Bring curry to a boil and let simmer over low heat for 1 hour, stir occasionally.
6. The dhall curry is ready when the split peas are soft and begin to break apart. You can add more water if curry is too thick. Check seasoning and serve with naan or hot rice.

Serves 2 people.