There is nothing like cooking and eating as a family. It’s my favourite way to spend time with the people I love, and this is why this dish, dal with native tarka, feels like home.
Mindy says…
There is nothing like cooking and eating as a family. It’s my favourite way to spend time with the people I love, and this is why this dish, dal with native tarka, feels like home.
This recipe is inspired by two big culinary influences in my life: one, spending part of my childhood in Malaysia; and two, native ingredients.
Spending part of my childhood in Malaysia, it wasn’t uncommon to walk out onto the bustling streets of Penang and enjoy a bowl of dal at any time of day. Whether it is served for breakfast, lunch or dinner, this recipe is wholesome and nourishing, like being embraced from within. As my sister-in-law says, this dish is “a hug in a bowl” – and nothing sounds more appetising than that.
My first memory of eating native ingredients was formed while spending long summer days at the beaches of New South Wales’ North Coast: swimming, fishing and playing in the ocean from sunbreak to sunset. My Nan, Mum and Aunties would take us up into the sand dunes to find “bush lollies”, or karkalla – you may know it as pigface – and we would squeal with excitement when we found a big patch. We shared our bounty among our mob and enjoyed the sweet, salty juiciness of the fruit.
Native foods are a beautiful way for us all to connect with Country. To me, they really bring this recipe to life, but if you can’t find all of them, get creative and use what you have. I love snake beans or okra in place of the coastal succulents, and if any of the native spices are unavailable, simply double the whole fennel, cumin and coriander seeds in the tarka.
KARKALLA AT HOME BY MINDY WOODS IS OUT NOW.
Dal With Native Tarka
Ingredients
Serves 6
Dal
¼ cup macadamia or olive oil
500g brown onions, finely diced
5cm ginger, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 sprig of fresh curry leaves
tablespoons finely chopped coriander root
500g chana dal, thoroughly rinsed
800g tomatoes, diced
2 long green chillies, thinly sliced
4 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 cups vegetable stock
Large handful of mixed coastal succulents and native greens, such as karkalla sea purslane, saltbush
Lemon Myrtle Flatbreads
Makes 8
2 cups self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup full-fat Greek-style yoghurt
1 teaspoon ground lemon myrtle
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter, ghee or macadamia oil
Tarka
150ml macadamia or olive oil
1 French shallot, thinly sliced
2 heaped teaspoons each of whole cumin, fennel and coriander seeds
2 heaped teaspoons each of ground wattleseed, aniseed myrtle and cinnamon myrtle
2 teaspoons salt
Method
In a large heavy-based saucepan, heat the oil and cook the onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and coriander root until the onion is browned. Add the chana dal, tomatoes, green chilli and turmeric, and stir well. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cover and cook until the chana dal begins to break down, about 45–55 minutes. Keep an eye on the dal as it cooks, giving it a stir and topping up with a splash of stock or water if it seems to be drying out. The dal should be a soupy consistency.
While the dal is cooking, make the flatbreads. In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients except the butter, ghee or oil. When you have a smooth dough, divide it into eight even-sized portions. On a flour-dusted bench, roll each one out into a roughly circular shape. Heat the butter, ghee or oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook one or two flatbreads at a time, depending on the size of your pan. Lay them in the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes until they start to rise and turn lightly golden on the underside. Flip and cook for a further 2 minutes or until cooked through. Keep the cooked flatbreads between two clean tea towels so they stay warm while you cook the rest.
Just before serving, make the tarka. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat, then add the shallot and cook until golden brown. Now add all the seeds, ground spices and salt, and stir, cooking until aromatic – the seeds will begin to pop, releasing their scent. Be careful not to burn the spices! Divide the dal between six bowls and top with the coastal succulents and native greens, then carefully spoon over a generous amount of the hot tarka. Serve with the warm flatbreads.
Published in ed#731