chana dal

our new housemates came with a big bag of chana dal, aka split yellow peas, so i went to the interwebs to figure out what to do with it. the recipe at http://www.indianfoodforever.com/daal/chana-dal.html was so good i made it (with a few tweaks) twice in one week and finished off the supply. it makes a lot, but having a big jar of dal in the fridge is the best defense against "i'm too hungry to cook let's just get take-out"
soak in copious water for 2-3 hours then rinse and drain:

• 2 c. chana dal

boil

• 6 c. water

add the dal and cook on medium about 30 minutes, until the beans are soft enough to smoosh between your fingers. stir it up then add

• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
  
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste

stir it all together. in a small pan, fry over low heat

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
• 1/2 tsp black mustard seed
• 2 tsp minced garlic

when the mustard and garlic are fragrant and the oil is hot, dump it in the pot of beans, stir again, cover the pot and cook 2 minutes. uncover and cook another 5 minutes, then serve with rice.