Kale and Fresh Tomato Dal

1 1/2 cups masoor dal, picked over, rinsed and drained
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida or hing
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
water to cover lentils by 1 1/2 inches
3 tablespoons ghee, canola oil or butter
2 cups thinly sliced red or yellow onions (red onions look prettier in this dish)
1 teaspoon salt
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper flakes or thin fresh chili slices to taste
1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 cups thinly sliced lacinato kale leaves
5 small fresh vine ripened tomatoes, cored and cut into six wedges each (about 1 pound)
salt to taste

Method:

Put lentils, asafoetida, ginger, and turmeric in a pot. Add water to cover the lentils by about 1 1/2 inches. Bring to a boil, stir and turn down heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring as needed, until the lentils are tender. Add water as needed to cook them into a medium thick puree.

When lentils are cooked, cover the pot and remove from heat.

When lentils are about halfway cooked–after about ten to fifteen minutes simmering time–heat ghee or canola oil in a heavy frying pan. Add the onions, sprinkle evenly with the salt and cook, stirring, until the onions are a deep golden brown. Add the garlic, the chili flakes or slices and the mustard and cumin seeds, and cook, stirring, until the onions are deep reddish brown, the garlic is golden with browned edges, the cumin is toasted and the mustard seeds have popped. Add the kale leaves, and continue cooking for another couple of minutes, or until the leaves have deepened in color and wilted, with slight browning on the edges.

Open the lentil pot and scrape in the tarka, then toss in the tomatoes and stir everything in together. Taste for salt, and correct seasoning as needed, then clap the lid on the dal to trap in all of the delicious spicy aromas, and keep warm until serving it with rice, chutney and raita.