Prepare a Burnt Lemon Chana Dal Soup

This dish was an accident by all counts. First, I'd intended to buy yellow split peas to make a split-pea soup, but when I got home I realized I'd accidentally picked up a bag of Chana Dal, which is actually a type of chickpea.

Then I decided to go a bit more South Asian in flavor, but rather than do a plain old dal, I wanted to do something a little different. Lately I've been enamored with grilled lemons, using them in everything from lemonade to marinades to ice cream. As I was broiling the lemon for this soup, I got a phone call, which brought me away from my kitchen ... until I smelled an earthy citrus aroma reminiscent of preserved lemons or dried limes. My lemon!

When I opened up the grill, I found a black lump of charcoal staring back at me like a giant obsidian eye. As unsalvageable as it looked, it did smell pretty good, so I scraped a flake of black stuff off and took a nibble. It still tasted like lemon, only more nutty and complex and although it was a bit bitter, I always char my aromatics when making masoor dal and have never had a problem with the finished dal turning out bitter.

I fried some cumin and onions before tossing in the chana dal, burnt lemon and vegetable stock and sealed up the pressure cooker to cook for about twenty minutes. When I opened up the cooker I was greeted by a fragrant pot of cooked chana dal. It turns out these relatives of the chickpea hold their shape better than lentils, so I had to use a stick blender to puree it.

What I ended up with was a gloriously thick soup that was almost creamy in texture. The smoky lemon flavor was present, but not overpowering, and it lent the soup a mild acidity and intense umami that was vaguely reminiscent of tomatoes. The pith of the lemon did impart an almost imperceptible bitterness that was far less offensive than most mustard greens, while adding character to the soup.