- 1 cup (192 g) split gram (chana dal), picked over and washed
- 1 cup (192 g) dried split green lentils with skin (moong dal), picked over and washed
- ½ medium yellow or red onion, peeled and diced (½ cup [75 g])
- 1 (1-inch [2.5-cm]) piece ginger root, peeled and grated or minced
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and grated or minced
- 1 medium tomato, peeled and diced (1 cup [160 g])
- 1-3 green Thai, serrano, or cayenne chiles, stems removed, chopped
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, divided
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon red chile powder or cayenne
- 6 cups (1.42 L) water
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
- Put the split gram, green lentils, onion, ginger root, garlic, tomato, chiles, 1 tablespoon of the cumin, turmeric, salt, red chile powder, and water in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 5 hours. (See Notes for details on making this dish without a slow cooker.)
- Near the end of the cooking time, heat the oil in a shallow pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of cumin.
- Once it is sizzling, add the red pepper flakes. Cook for another 30 seconds at the most. If you cook it too long, the flakes will get too hard.
- Add this mixture, along with the cilantro, to the lentils.
- Serve this alone as a soup or with brown or white basmati rice, toti, or naan.