One of my favorite things to eat when I was a kid was a buttery tomato lentil dish topped with crispy spiced potatoes. This meal warms you up two fold, first its served piping hot on a bed of fresh rice and second the red chili powder warms and livens your taste buds. If you don’t have rice or prefer not to eat this with rice, you can make the lentils a bit more watery and turn it into a hearty soup. Check out my recipe below for this classic South Indian dish.
Tomato Lentils & Potato Hash
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A comforting South Indian dish featuring buttery tomato lentils topped with crispy spiced potato hash, perfect for warming up on a chilly day.
Ingredients
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- cup toor dal, cooked
- Salt to taste
- Pinch of turmeric powder
- Red chili powder (to your taste & spice level)
- tsp. amchur powder (or splash of lemon juice)
- Thadka (all done in 1/2 tbs.)
- o ½ ts. Hing powder
- o Mustard seeds
- o Chana dal
- o Udad dal
- o Cumin seeds
- o 2 dry red chilies, broken in half
- Potato Hash
- 1 lb of small potatoes
- Pinch of hing powder
- Salt to taste
- Pinch of turmeric
- Red chili powder to your taste
- Cumin Seeds
Instructions
- Cook the toor dal: If using a pressure cooker, cook the dal with enough water until soft. If using a pot, cover the dal with water and cook until tender, about 30-40 minutes.
- In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they start to splutter, add the garlic and sauté until golden brown.
- Add the diced tomatoes, turmeric powder, and salt. Cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the cooked toor dal to the tomato mixture. Stir well and add red chili powder and amchur powder. Simmer for 10 minutes, adding water if needed to reach your desired consistency.
- For the potato hash, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in another pan over medium heat. Add the diced potatoes and cook until they are crispy and golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking.
- Serve the tomato lentils hot, topped with crispy potato hash and garnished with fresh cilantro. Serve with rice or enjoy as a soup.
Notes
For a soup-like consistency, add more water to the lentils. If you don’t have amchur powder, a splash of lemon juice works well. Serve with fresh rice for a complete meal. The dish can be adjusted for spice by varying the amount of red chili powder.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: South Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 6 grams
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 10 grams
- Carbohydrates: 55 grams
- Fiber: 12 grams
- Protein: 12 grams
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
