Short answer: yes, you can make tadka in extra virgin olive oil. It smokes at roughly 190 to 210°C, and a tadka on medium heat stays below that. The oil lifts the dal where ghee coats it.
Ingredients
- Your everyday dal, hot
- 2 tbsp BONO extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 dried red chillies
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
- A pinch of hing
- Juice of half a lime
Method
- Make the dal exactly as you always do.
- In a small pan, warm the BONO on medium, not smoking, just shimmering. Add the cumin and let it crackle for a few seconds.
- Add the chillies and garlic. The moment the garlic turns pale gold, kill the heat and add the hing.
- Pour the tadka over the dal at the table so everyone hears it. Finish with lime.
Why use olive oil instead of ghee here?
Ghee coats, olive oil lifts. The peppery finish of a good extra virgin olive oil cuts through heavy dal in a way ghee cannot, and the garlic stays sweet instead of turning bitter.
Made with BONO Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Spanish, never blended, in a squeeze bottle that lives by the stove. See all BONO recipes or cooking with olive oil, answered.