.: evil jungle prince :.

Sometimes the best tasting foods are the simplest to make. Tarka dal falls into this category.

Made with a simple combination of two different types of lentils, this dish takes all of about half an hour to prepare and then have ready on the table. In fact, any cooked rice you serve will take longer to prep than this simply but robustly spiced, hearty soup.

1. Start by placing 1 1/3 cups red lentils, 1/3 cup chana dal or yellow split peas, 2 finely sliced onions, 2 diced tomatoes*, 2 minced garlic cloves, 2-3 sliced hot green chillies, 1 tsp hot chili powder, 1 tsp turmeric, and 6 cups water in a pot. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 mins.

2. At the 20 min mark, uncover and allow to simmer for 5 mins more.

3. Saute 4-5 garlic cloves and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds in 2 tsp oil. Add garlic mixture to the dal, together with a handful of fresh cilantro. Add salt to taste.

* I supplemented my tomatoes with a spoonful of tomato paste, to give some kick to mediocre supermarket tomatoes.

Don't let the simplicity of this dish fool you. It gets it full bodied flavor only at the end of the preparation when the garlicy oil, cumin seeds, and cilantro liven up the party.

Some inspiration... In the introduction to Das Sreedharan's wonderful Indian Shortcuts to Success cookbook, he quotes his mother as saying that "Nobody can teach you to cook. You must learn yourself how to prepare food your own way." This couldn't sum up my own approach to life, and cooking, any better.