Masoor dhal curry is a very common side dish served with rice.  In the tamil cuisine this dhal curry also served with idiappam and sothi.  Different people cook this differently.  Some people cook this spicy with red chili powder and tomatoes.  This recipe is a very quick version of masoor dhal curry which only takes about 10 minutes.  To make it even quicker, frying part can be completely omitted and chopped garlic and curry leaves can be added to the dhal and cooked directly.  In this case, onion can be completely omitted.

Ingredients

For the Dhal curry:

• 1 cup masoor dhal
• 2 ½ cups water
• 2 green chilies chopped
• 2 tablespoons milk
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• Salt to taste

For frying:

• ¼ cup sliced red onion
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• ¼ teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• Few curry leaves

Method

• wash dhal and add water, salt and chopped green chilies and cook on medium flame for about 12 – 14 minutes (when cooking dhal on stove top do not close the saucepan)
• add milk and cumin powder and cook for another 30 seconds
• In a skillet add canola oil and add mustard seeds. 
• When the mustard seeds start splattering add onion and garlic and fry until they are golden brown
• Add curry leaves and fry for a few seconds and mix with cooked dhal
• Serve with warm rice

Yields 3 – 4 side dishes