Cholar Dal (Bengal Gram - Bengali style)
almost 2 & 1/2 cups of water
1 green cardamom,
1 clove,
1/4 tsp of turmeric
and salt to taste (around 1/2tsp? more?)
for 6 minutes after steam has built up in the cooker or say about 10-12 mins on the whole - basically "till its done" (yeah, a little experimentation here might be necessary)
Heat 1 tbsp of Ghee (or Oil - go with the Ghee. It tastes better) in a pot. (For a pop of flavor, add Mustard Oil instead of Ghee)
Add to the oil
1 small bay leaf,
2-3 green cardamom,
2-3 cloves,
1" thin stick of cinnamon
and 2 dry red chilis
Once you get a pretty little aroma o' spices, add 2 tbsp freshly grated coconut (you can find the stuff frozen in the freezer section of your friendly Indian grocery store) and fry the whole thing till the coconut browns.
Add a pinch of asafoetidia to the oil, and then add the cooked dal to the pot
Add a small amount of golden raisins (the more you add, the sweeter the resultant Dal), salt to taste, a pinch or two of turmeric and mix well. You can - optionally - add a little grated ginger.
Just before taking off the heat add 1/2 tsp of sugar and mix. Garnish with a chilli powder and cilantro and serve. If at all possible, allow others to have some before you devour the whole thing
Note: You can play around with the amount of water in the dal to get it thicker or thinner - it should be somewhat thick, but hey, different strokes for different folks...
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