Because I get excited about odd things, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about this salty, nutty mixture of coconut, crunchy spices, little nuggets of garlic and strands of spicy ginger. Simple ways to create comfort food with that perfect balance of salt and spice and nutty-hug-yourself goodness. It’s one of my favorite ways to cook.

A popular way to flavor Indian food is through a tadka – or tempered spices. You cook whole spices in oil so that their full flavor is released. The whole spices – oil and all – are added to a dish either at the beginning or at the end to finish. The effect is similar to a Japanese Furikake or Middle Eastern Dukkah.

I added this Toasted Coconut Tadka to split yellow lentils but you can toss it in with any other lentil type or even green beans.

Tiny tufts of toasted coconut. Velvety warm lentils with just a bit of a bite. Whole crunchy spices. Little nuggets of garlic. Spicy strands of ginger
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