- Wash the lentils and soak them in water for 30 minutes.
- Chop 3 garlic and put to one side. Chop the remaining 2 and keep them separate.
- Bring 1.4 litres of water to the boil and add the lentils then return to the boil. Add 1 tsp of salt, the pumpkin, onion, tomatoes, 3 of the garlic cloves, ginger, green chillies, coriander, cumin and red chilli powders. Cook for 30 minutes over a moderate heat.
- Add the lime juice, boil for 5 minutes. Then you can remove from the heat. At this point, my dal was too wet so I spooned away some of the liquid until I reached a thicker consistency. This can be done to personal taste. Then use a whisk to churn until the lentil grains are mashed. The consistency should be like soft porridge.
- When ready to serve, heat the oil in a metal ladle or spoon and fry the remaining garlic cloves in it for 1 minute then pour over the dal.
Recipe from 50 Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi