Lentils at the table
Dal tarka or dal makhani? Start with the lentils
Dal is easy to treat as the extra dish in a curry order. It can just as easily be the one you build dinner around. On Samway’s menu, Dal Tarka and Dal Makhani start with different lentils and take different turns in the kitchen. If you usually choose whichever name you recognise, here is a more useful way to decide.
Dal Tarka: yellow lentils, cumin and garlic
Our Dal Tarka is described with yellow lentils, cumin and garlic. That is a good place to start if those are the flavours you want at the centre of dinner. You can keep the rest of the order straightforward: a bread for scooping, or rice if you prefer to spoon the dal over it.
It also gives a sharing table something different from cubes of paneer or pieces of chicken. Rather than choosing another curry with the same main ingredient, add dal and let each person combine it with the dishes already on the table. Our vegetarian menu guide puts the lentil, chickpea and vegetable choices together.
Dal Makhani: black lentils and butter
Dal Makhani on the Samway menu uses black lentils and butter. It has a different starting point from the yellow-lentil dish, so the two names do not describe the same dal with different seasoning. Choose it when the butter-rich direction is what you feel like eating.
You do not have to add a second rich curry to make that dinner feel finished. Dal Makhani, bread and a vegetable dish is one way to put a meal together. Aloo Gobi gives you cauliflower and potato; Bhindi Masala brings okra. Pick the vegetable you actually enjoy, rather than adding a dish just because it sits next to dal on the menu.
What should go beside it?
Plain Rice lets you decide how much dal goes into each spoonful. With naan or roti, you tear off a piece and scoop. Neither is a required choice, and for a shared dinner you may want both. The useful question is how much bread and rice is already in the order.
Garlic Naan adds another garlic flavour; Plain Naan keeps the bread simpler. Tandoori Roti is another option to compare. Our naan and roti guide is helpful if that decision is holding up dinner. You can also leave the sides uncomplicated and spend your time choosing the dal.
Choose for this meal, not for every meal
If Butter Chicken or a creamy paneer curry is already on the table, Dal Tarka may be the change you are looking for. If dal is the dish you are most excited about, start with Dal Makhani and build around it. These are suggestions for variety, not rules about what belongs together.
For ingredient requirements, read the dietary guide and ask the restaurant about the dish you intend to order. In particular, do not assume that a lentil dish is dairy-free: butter is named in Dal Makhani. You will find the current options and descriptions in online ordering.
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