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1
Pat the meat pieces dry with a paper towel. Set aside.
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2
Put the 1 chopped onion, garlic, and ginger into the container of a food processor or electric blender. Add 4 tablespoons water and blend at high speed until you have a smooth paste.
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3
Heat the oil in a 10-inch heavy bottomed casserole-type pot (I used my Dutch oven) over medium-high flame. Put in the 4 sliced onions and fry them, stirring, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are a darkish brown and crisp. (They go from this stage to black and crisp fairly quickly, so be alert.) Remove them with a slotted spoon and spread on a paper towel.
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4
Working in batches, brown the meat well on all sides over high heat in the onion-flavored oil. When all the meat has browned, turn off the heat under the pot.
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5
When the remaining oil has cooled a bit, pour in the paste from the food processor or blender. Stir it well, mixing it with the juices in the pot. Turn up the heat and fry the paste, stirring all the time, 8-10 minutes or until it has browned (this happened after about 5 minutes for me). Now lower the heat and add, at intervals, frying and stirring, the coriander, cumin and turmeric; after a minute or two, the tomato sauce; and after another minute, the mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. Finally, after 5 minutes, add 1 1/4 cups water, salt, black pepper, cayenne, the browned meat, and the cleaned and washed chana dal. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring gently every 10 minutes or so. Do not let the grains of dal break.
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6
When done, add the lemon juice and stir gently.
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7
Serve in a warm bowl, sprinkled with the browned onions and chopped cilantro. Serve with plain rice and at least one relish, such as the cucumber raita below.
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8
An Invitation to Indian Cooking
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9
Peel and grate the cucumber. Empty the yogurt into serving bowl and beat it well with a fork until it is smooth and pastelike. Add the cucumber, salt, black pepper, roasted cumin (reserve a pinch for garnish), and cayenne to the bowl. Sprinkle with paprika and the pinch of roasted cumin. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. This relish goes well with nearly all Indian meals.
