How to prepare #panchporan /#panchphoran : Below is panch phoran or panch phora. It is Usually used to temper Indian dishes.

Prepare all ingredients.

Soak chana dhal or yellow lentils for few hours. Soaking will help shorten the cooking time. Another way to shorten the cooking time is using pressure cooker but not everyone owns one. Some prepare this with slow cooker. Putting everything, A & B in a slow cooker and once cooked, adding C last to temper.

Cooking the dhal curry - In a pot, boil A with enough water and cook until tender. Turn off the heat. Using a blender or emersion blender, roughly blend the mixture. Return to pot. Add everything in B. Again, Cook until everything is tender over medium heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. Simmer until creamy.

Note on Cooking the dhal curry - blending A is optional but blending will create a creamy mixture and when B is added, you will have both creamy and soft bites texture in your dhal curry. Skip blending if your cooked dhal and potatoes in A are cooked very softly and start to break.

Tempering - In the mean time, Heat cooking oil in a pan. Add panch phoran and the rest of the ingredients in C into hot oil. Mix and stir for 20 seconds or until aromatic. Turn the heat off. Pour the whole thing into the dhal pot in step 3. Stir and mix. Turn the heat off and serve with roti, paratha, dosa or rice.