Dal bhat two ways from MasterChef winner Justin Narayan

The Guardian

01-07-2025

My mum and grandma made dal literally every day. They didn't have a recipe. Sometimes they added garlic, other times they played around with different kinds of lentils. It was always different and it was always amazing.
Whenever I go home to visit, Mum will make dal, chicken curry, roti and rice. She knows they're still my favourites. But even though it was such a fond recipe, I didn't make it until I was in the MasterChef apartment practising for challenges. I didn't know what was going to happen on the show, but I wanted this up my sleeve so I could make something that meant a lot to me during a challenge. So, I called my mum.
I was moving around the kitchen, phone to ear, Mum telling me what to do. She gave a vague description, but I'd eaten it a thousand times, so when she said something confusing like 'add this, it'll taste better', I knew what she meant.
Mum taught me the traditional version, but I wanted to make a creative one on the show – something new but still nostalgic. So I tried making a crisp from dehydrated rice, making a thicker dal you could use as a dip and adding pickled onions and chutney for more texture, acidity and pops of spice.
I practised in the apartment, but I only nailed it on TV. It was super weird to do it in front of the whole world, but that's the kind of cooking I wanted to share with people. Humble recipes I grew up with.
First up is The OG – a culmination of all I learned from Mum and Grandma. If it's like their dal, it'll be perfect. The second recipe is my MasterChef recipe.
Serves 4-6
½ cup (100g) red lentils
½ cup (100g) yellow lentils
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped1 small eggplant, peeled and finely chopped1 tomato, finely chopped2 tsp lemon juice (from about ¼ lemon)Temper2 tbsp ghee
1 small brown onion, finely chopped1 garlic clove, finely chopped1 bird's eye chilli, halved lengthways (use ½ or ¼ if you want less spice)¼ tsp cumin seeds¼ tsp black mustard seeds
1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds
Wash the lentils and place in a saucepan with five cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring after five minutes. Skim and discard any white foam that comes to the surface. Stir in the turmeric and salt until combined, then add the carrot, eggplant and tomato. Simmer until the lentils are soft (you should be able to easily crush one between your fingers), about 10–15 minutes. Using a potato masher, give the dal a rough mash to thicken.
To make the temper, heat the ghee in a frying pan over medium–high heat, then add the onion, garlic, chilli and whole spices and cook until the onion is golden brown.
Add the temper to the dal and mix in, then season with the lemon juice and more salt to taste. Serve with roti, chicken curry and chilli chutney.
Serves 4
½ cup (100g) red lentils
½ cup (100g) yellow lentils
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tomato, finely chopped1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped30g unsalted butter
1 small brown onion, finely chopped1 garlic clove, thinly sliced½ bird's eye chilli, roughly diced½ tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp fennel seeds1 tbsp lemon juice (from about ½ lemon)Basmati rice crisp½ cup (100g) basmati riceQuick pickled onion½ red onion, thinly sliced¼ cup (60 ml) white vinegarCoriander chutney1 bunch of fresh coriander, leaves and stems1 garlic clove
1 long green chilli
1 bird's eye chilli1 tbsp lemon juice (from about ½ lemon)1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil1 tsp white vinegar
To make the basmati rice crisp, wash the rice until the water runs clear. Transfer to a small saucepan with one cup water. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and cook until the rice is slightly overcooked, about 20 minutes. Drain.
Preheat the oven to 140C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Blitz the rice in a blender until you get a smooth, thick paste, adding a little water if it's too thick to blend. Spread the blitzed rice as thin as possible over the prepared tray. Sprinkle salt over the rice, then bake until crisp, about one hour. If it browns, you've gone too far; you don't want any colour. Set aside.
Meanwhile, make the quick pickled onion. Place the red onion, vinegar and a generous pinch of salt in a bowl. Use your hands to massage everything for one to two minutes, then set aside for 20 minutes to pickle.
While the onion is pickling, wash the lentils, then place in a saucepan with three cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring after five minutes. Skim and discard any white foam that comes to the surface. Stir in the turmeric and a pinch of salt until combined, then add the tomato and carrot. Simmer until the lentils are soft (you should be able to easily crush one between your fingers), about 10–15 minutes. Using a potato masher, give the dal a rough mash to thicken.
Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, bird's eye chilli, cumin and fennel seeds and cook for 2 minutes. Mix this butter mixture into the lentil mixture. Adjust the seasoning with the lemon juice and salt to taste. Using a stick blender, roughly blitz the dal to slightly thicken it – you want the consistency of a chunky hummus.
To make the coriander chutney, roughly chop the coriander, garlic and green and bird's eye chillies, then transfer to a blender along with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth, then season with salt. You're looking for something with a bit of punch; it should be spicy and a little sour.
Place the dal in a serving bowl, then top with the chutney and a few slices of pickled onion. Break the rice crisp into iPhone-sized shards and serve on the side.
This is an edited extract from Everything is Indian by Justin Narayan (Murdoch Books; $39.99)