Leading up to a trip to London, I asked the chefs, food writers, cookbook authors, and foodie friends in my social circle where they go to eat. I got a long list of places to pin to my Google Maps, but there was one place that nearly every one of my trusted sources recommended enthusiastically: Dishoom.
Opened in 2009, the restaurant is an homage to the Iranian immigrant-owned all-day cafes of Bombay. The Dishoom team have created a constellation of stylish, hip restaurants with decor that makes you feel as if you’ve landed in the swinging ’60s version of Bombay, now known as Mumbai. They serve Indian food that’s so delicious, Londoners willingly queue up for hours.
From the pakoras and bhajis to the moreish Ruby Chicken, our meal at Dishoom turned out to be one of the best of our trip. Among all the spice and color on our overloaded table, the creamy, buttery black dal stood out to me the most. Not at all like the Southern Indian red lentil dal I was accustomed to, the thick, rich, stew was the one dish I pined for when I got back home.
Fortunately, Dishoom published a cookbook called Dishoom: From Bombay with Love, so I snapped it up to relive the meal, especially that simple black dal. It turns out it’s not so simple. The headnote warns you that the restaurant cooks theirs for 24 hours to make the tough little black lentils break down to creamy luxuriousness. The recipe for home cooks requires 4 to 5 hours. I’ve made it many times and it’s awesome, but sometimes I want a bowl of lentil soup without being tethered to the stove for that long.
Then, an epiphany! On a recent trip to my favorite Indian grocery (Apna Bazaar in Beaverton, Oregon, is my happy place), I noticed bags of a split, skin-on black dal right next to the whole black lentils that require so much time. Would those machine-split beans deliver the same creamy goodness? I had to find out.
Because the split dal cooks in a fraction of the time required for whole lentils, I was able to skip the original recipe’s 2- to 3-hour simmering step. Next you’re supposed to add the garlic, ginger, tomato puree, and spices; because the dal simmers for hours, the raw taste of garlic and ginger dissipates with time. Since the split lentils took only 45 minutes cook, I was left with a harsh, raw garlic flavor. So in my next trial, I sauteed the garlic, ginger, and other aromatics first, then added the lentils and water, more like a traditional soup recipe. That tweak mellowed the flavors nicely.
Speaking of aromatics, while I adore this cookbook, the dal recipe’s ingredients lists give me a headache. Everything is in grams, even small amounts like ginger and garlic. Do you know what 10 grams of garlic paste converts to in teaspoons? Me neither. So in the following recipe, I’ve changed the grams to teaspoon measurements. And instead of using the book’s sub recipes to make batches of garlic and ginger paste, I just finely chop what I need for this recipe and smash it with the side of my knife, so there’s no need to get out the mini food processor.
The original recipe calls for tomato puree, which is thicker in the UK than the watery tomato puree we have stateside. For my adaptation, I settled on using a few tablespoons of tomato paste, since I have it in a tube in the fridge at all times. I kept the original recipe’s deggi mirch chile powder, a finely ground blend made with Kashmiri chiles that adds color and mild heat. It is available at the same shop where I buy split black dal, but if you don’t have similar access, I recommend a mix of sweet paprika with a tiny bit of cayenne pepper; don’t use straight cayenne, as it’s much too hot for this subtle dish.
I’m guessing that the cookbook’s recipe must have been scaled down from the giant batches of dal made in the restaurant kitchen because it calls for only ⅓ teaspoon of garam masala, an amount that’s undetectable in a big pot of soup. So I’ve upped the garam masala to 1 teaspoon. The book gives you a sub recipe to make your own garam masala spice blend that involves toasting 12 ingredients, including rose petals and whole mace blades, and pulverizing them in an electric grinder. If you use your coffee bean grinder for this task, you will have garam masala that tastes like coffee and vice versa. (Please don’t ask me how I know this.) Or you can buy garam masala from a trusted source, such as Burlap & Barrel or the Spice House, and that will work fine. Do buy only what you’ll go through in a few months, as it loses its sparkle with time.
Given that dal’s Hindi name, dal makhani, means “buttery dal,” it should come as no surprise that you’ll be adding butter to this recipe — a whopping 90 grams, or about 6 tablespoons. Feel free to adjust according to your cholesterol panels; I’ve found 3 tablespoons to be a good amount. The recipe also swirls in 6 tablespoons of double cream, a British ingredient that’s 48 percent fat. In the U.S., heavy whipping cream is just 36 to 38 percent fat, so while my dal isn’t quite as rich, ¼ cup does the job reasonably well.
After cooking dozens of batches of Dishoom’s delicious black dal, I’ve come up with a reasonable version that can be made in 45 minutes instead of 6 hours. The time saving lets me make basmati rice, dig around for the jarred Indian pickle I know is somewhere in my fridge, and maybe even heat up some frozen chapati or naan. It’s not exactly the beguiling dal I fell in love with that rainy afternoon in King’s Cross, but it will hold me over until I can get back to London.
Black Dal Recipe
Adapted from Dishoom: From Bombay With Love
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1¼ cups split, skin-on black dal (also called black urad dal or matpe beans)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1¼ teaspoons very finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (about 4 medium cloves)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon garam masala
¾ teaspoon deggi mirch chile powder, or sweet paprika with a pinch of cayenne
1¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions:
Step 1: Put the dal in a fine mesh sieve and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Set aside.
Step 2: Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in an 8-quart soup pot over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not browned, 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, garam masala, and chile powder and cook, stirring constantly until the paste begins to brown just a little on the bottom of the pot, 1 minute.
Step 3: Add the lentils, 6 cups water, and the salt and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and simmer until the beans are creamy and falling apart, about 45 minutes. Stir frequently and scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure the lentils aren’t catching. The soup is done when the lentils have broken down considerably and the mixture is thick and porridge-y.
Step 4: Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the cream and cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning, adding salt and chile powder as desired. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers until completely cool. Cover and use within 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Leftover dal will thicken as it sits, so add water to adjust consistency when reheating.
Ivy Manning is a Portland, Oregon-based award-winning food writer and author of 10 cookbooks including Tacos A to Z: A Delicious Guide to Nontraditional Tacos. She is a regular recipe tester and editor for Eater as well as restaurants and appliance brands.
Dina Ávila is a photographer in Portland, Oregon
