This dal is really rich and luscious. I sometimes cut down on the ghee and substitute milk for cream, but this is the complete version. It's best eaten with the flatbread called naan. Most people don't make naan at home, at least here in South India, because it requires a special oven, but this version, by Tarla Dalal, is pretty good. The cooking method is from Flatbreads and Flavors, by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid.

Sieve the flour. Mix sugar and yeast in 1 cup warm water and stir until yeast dissolves. Cover and wait for 5 to 7 minutes until the yeast foams. Mix this liquid with yoghurt, ghee/butter, salt and flour, and make a soft dough, adding more water as necessary. Knead the dought for 6 to 7 minutes. Let the dough rest under a damp cloth for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven (see below). Knead the dough briefly, divide into 20 pieces. Pat and gently stretch each piece into an oval shape about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with a pinch of nigella (optional).

Baking the naan: Place baking stone (I use an unglazed kitchen wall tile) on the bottom rach of the oven, leaving a 1-inch space between the tile and the oven walls to allow air to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450 F. As soon as the naans are formed, place them on the heated quarry tiles, and bake for about 4 minutes, until the bread has golden patches on top and a crusty browned bottom surface. (It's best to form the naans as you bake them, so that they don't rise too long). Remove the naans and brush the tops with melted butter (optional). Serve warm.

Eat-L Digest 10 August 96

From the Eat-L recipe list. Downloaded from Glen's Mm Recipe Archive,