Red Lentils with Tomatoes and Cilantro

Today is a cold evening, when I am ready for my favorite bowl of red lentils with steaming rice. The great thing about red lentils is that we all love them especially the kids. Their all time favorite version is this Red Lentils with Tomatoes and Cilantro. We make it so often, I almost find it difficult to write about it. In my house it just happens.

About Red Lentils with Tomatoes and Cilantro

Red Lentils or Mushoor Dal is ultimate comfort food on the Bengali table. They are best enjoyed with Bengali style mashed potatoes or potatoes with poppy seeds.

Carbs feature front and center, when a Bengali thinks of comfort food. Tomatoes and Cilantro are key flavors in this recipe for Red Lentils. The color does vary depending on the kind of tomatoes used. I often vary the tempering as well, between cumin seeds and panch phoron, and what a difference those little things make. A more traditional version of red lentils is found here.

A little on the Use of tomatoes and Cilantro

Tomatoes are not an indigenous ingredient on the Bengali or for that matter the Indian table. They came to India via the Portuguese. One of the first things the Bengalis did with the tomatoes is to use them in Chutney.

Hence this recipe is not a classic version for red lentils. It is a recipe like many others born in my New York kitchen.

These past two weeks have been fun, especially with the kick-off of the two by two event, here is a preview of what this Sunday’s round up will look like, so today I took a break and cooked up a comfort dish from my own book. This is an especially homey variation, where I actually use olive oil for tempering.