Yellow Dal and Baked Pita Chips

A friend served me some yellow dal from a Trader Joe's prepackaged meal when I was at her house for lunch. I hadn't ever had it before, and it was yum. So I decided to figure out how to make it myself. I learned that dal (or daal, or dahl) is a very generic term, like saying "soup", and can be whatever you have or want. So I will not apologize that this recipe is not authentic, since it is whatever I want. (But I'm sure it is not authentic.)

Serve it over rice. I made 3 cups (uncooked) of brown basmati rice according to package instructions, which was about the right proportions for the dal, however the older kids ate only rice, so probably 2 cups is really the right amount.

2 c. yellow lentils or yellow split peas (although some recipes said to use different colors)
6 c. broth
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1 t turmeric
2 t cumin
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c cilantro, chopped

Mix all but tomatoes and cilantro. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, adding the tomatoes halfway through cooking time. Stir frequently during last half of cooking time. Stir in cilantro.

I think I prefer lentils to split peas (which was how I tried it this time), although it was still delicious and very filling. The recipe I found said to put the tomatoes in with everything else, but I thought they were just boiled to death, so next time I'll try adding them halfway through to preserve their flavor a little bit. You could probably use canned as well.

Here is the conversation I had with my 2yo at dinner:

Him: Mom, dis?
Me: This is dal.
Him: Oh, dal. Like it dal.

Me too.

To win the other kids over, I made pita chips. I get the whole wheat pitas (cheapest at Trader Joe's), split them open, and tear into pieces. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, put the pieces on it, salt and spray again. Bake about 7 minutes at 425. Watch them closely at the end, they burn quickly!