So rezzeJ beat me to the punch, but since I already done did this challenge, I'll post what I got. rezzeJ, that looks superb, but do yourself a favor and get a good knife! Cook's Illustrated recommends this one, and it's cheap cheap cheap. Even cheaper across the pond, I suspect. Anyways.

Tarka Dhal

Start with red lentils and yellow split peas:

Throw them in a saucepan with some oil on med, and add these:

Appropriately skinned and diced, of course. Also add some turmeric, about a half teaspoon.

Looks like this in the pot:

When that's fragrant, add some stock. You can use vegetable or chicken- I used frozen chicken stock from the chicken I made a couple weeks ago. Gift that keeps on giving. Bring all that to a boil, then turn to med low and allow to simmer until the lentils have absorbed all the stock, and become soupy. About 20 min, more or less. Add salt to taste.

Meanwhile, chop up some of this shit:

That's mustard seed, tomato and onion (duh), arbol chile. In a perfect world I would've had some onion seeds too, but I can't find them anywhere around here.

Heat some oil on med hi in a large saute pan, and add all of those ingredients:

Cook down until onions are soft. You should probably turn the heat down at some point.

Make some bread dough in advance. This probably should have gone at the top of the instructions.

Bread is the unsung hero of any stew. I submit that no stew is complete without bread. If you can make it, great; if you have to buy it, fine. But have bread with your stew. I made flatbread, because I've never been able to find a decent naan recipe. Here's the dough before grilling:

Here it is after grilling:

Finally, fold the sauted veggie mix (the "tarka" in tarka dhal) into the lentils. Serve piping hot with bread. I also roasted some cauliflower with salt, pepper and olive oil, finished with a little lemon juice. Finished product:

I'm really trying to get away from brown. Hence the fresh cilantro and peppers. Tada.