Garam masala with star anise is my new thing, and this ended up being a key flavoring in this daal. Why, not sure–it just adds a different and I think interesting flavor. And since I make garam masala every few weeks, it gives me a chance to experiment with proportions and ingredients.

• 1/4 cup french lentils
• 1/4 cup baluga lentils (black lentils that supposedly look like caviar)
• 1/4 cup adzuki beans
• 1/4 cup split peas
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 box Pomi strained tomatoes (use whatever you want, this is what I often have handy)
• 1/2 onion
• 1 t turmeric
• 1 t cumin seeds
• 1 t coriander seeds
• 1 t asofoedita powder (hing in hindi)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 T ginger paste
• 1 T garlic paste
• 1-2 t cayenne pepper (ie: Indian chilli powder)
• 2 t garam masala
• salt to taste

1. If you don’t have garam masala, here’s a step-by-step recipe. I don’t use the bay leaves or ginger. And I added star anise.
2. Throw all of these ingredients into the crock pot. I don’t even bother pre-cooking the onions anymore. Cook on high for an hour or hour and a half lower to low to finish cooking. You might need to add water part way through if you want it thinner. Enjoy! I just let this go for several hours while I was cooking so I’m not entirely positive how long it took to fully cook…

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