“In India, when a girl is born, there’s no celebration. It’s that moment of darkness in a family. And when you’re unlucky enough to have another girl, it is not like a life, but almost like a death.” Asma Khan Stop what you’re doing right now, and hit play on the Asma Khan episode in Season 6 of the Netflix documentary Chef’s Table! Asma shares about the stigma of being born a second daughter in India. Her story is remarkable because she’s since become a champion of women: through food. She’s the force behind the all-women staffed London restaurant Darjeeling Express, and also runs a non-profit called Second Daughters Fund that celebrates the birth of second daughters in India. Oh AND she has a cookbook called Asma’s Indian Kitchen and was kind enough to share this delectable authentic masoor dal recipe with us today! Alex and I were thrilled to make and photograph it—and it was a huge hit with 2 year old Larson too! (This might be some of my favorite of Alex’s photos, ever.) Keep reading for more about Asma and her story.
About the book: Asma’s Indian Kitchen
It’s hard to explain in a few paragraphs just how inspiring Asma is: which makes watching her Chef’s Table episode that much more imperative! As an Indian immigrant to London, she started hosting a super club in her home after she reconnected with Indian food (like this masoor dal). It became so popular that she launched the Darjeeling Express, a restaurant run with her friends, all women immigrants from Southeast Asia with no professional culinary background. What struck me from the episode, among many things, was Asma’s desire for the restaurant to be reflective of her home: and to feed the heart and soul of her guests: “There are no divisions in my kitchen or my restaurant. We always say, ‘The guest is an incarnation of God.’ I want people to feel that they are valued. I’m cooking food from my home, from meals I’ve had in my family. My aim is for you to leave feeling like someone had embraced you. That’s how food should be. I get happiness from seeing people’s eyes when they eat the food I’ve cooked. That feeling, when you can light up someone’s soul with something you’ve prepared, that is a privilege and an honor.” Asma’s warmth literally radiates across the screen. And if that’s not enough: her experience being born a second daughter inspired her to start a non-profit called The Second Daughters fund. Sons are still preferred over daughters in traditional India, and second daughters are even less so. These girls carry the hurt and disadvantage for the rest of their upbringings. From the money raised, Second Daughters shares celebration packages for the birth of second daughter, and provides support her through her education. (You can donate here if interested!)
What is masoor dal? Why make it?
Now, on to this masoor dal! What does dal mean? Masoor dal translates as “red lentils” in Hindi. So a dal doesn’t refer to a specific dish, but to actual legumes! There are many types of dal, sometimes spelled daal or dahl. You may have heard of chana dal (chickpeas) or urad dal black lentils). Or you may have dried dal makhani, literally “buttery lentils.” This authentic masoor dal recipe is a basic dal and it comes out cozy and nuanced, with just the right amount of gentle flavoring. While you’ll see several dried red chilis are used in the recipe, it comes out mild, not spicy. As a family we loved sopping it up with naan: our 2-year-old Larson was quite the fan and even asked for seconds. It’s seriously satisfying and a great way to enjoy an affordable plant-based and vegan lentil recipe. You can adapt this masoor dal to your own taste by adding extra ingredients to the lentils, such as handfuls of chopped spinach or chunks of fresh tomato.
How to make masoor dal
This Indian red lentils recipe is seriously easy to make: it does take about 45 minutes to make, but it’s almost totally hands off. There’s a step for soaking the red lentils for 30 minutes, but if you’d like you can skip that step (Asma’s words, not mine!). One interesting step in this recipe is tempering the masoor dal with spiced oil. The tempering is a very important final stage in making dal, since so much flavor is contained in the spiced oil that is poured over the cooked lentils. Here’s how to make masoor dal: And that’s it: how to make Indian red lentils! Where to buy curry leaves and dried red chilis? They can be hard to find if you don’t have a preferred grocery for them; we found ours online! Here are links to both:
Curry leavesRed dried chilis
Thank you so much to Asma for sharing this incredible recipe and your story. And thank you to our friend Duncan for introducing us to Asma!
Looking for lentil recipes?
Outside of this masoor dal recipe, here are a few of our other favorite lentil recipes:
Quick Coconut Lentil CurryHearty Lentil StewButternut Squash Lentil Soup with KaleInstant Pot Tacos with Smoky Lentils“Verde” Lentil Vegan TacosHealthy Baked Sweet Potato with Moroccan LentilsSweet Potatoes with Goat Cheese & LentilsRice & Lentil SaladVegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with French LentilsHearty Vegan Stew with Sprouted LentilsRed Lentil Curry with Rice (Mesir Wat)Tuscan Artichoke Lentil StewCreamy Red Lentil SoupVegetarian Lentil Tacos
This masoor dal recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten free (when served with rice), vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free. 4.8 from 5 reviews
2 ½ cups (1 pound) red lentils 2 tablespoons ghee or oil 3 to 4 dried red chilis 1 small onion 4 garlic cloves 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
For the tempering
2 tablespoons ghee or oil 2 dried red chilis ½ teaspoon cumin seeds 1 garlic clove 4 fresh curry leaves
To serve (optional)
Flatbread (naan or chipati) or cooked basmati rice Fresh cilantro, for garnish
