![](\"https:\/\/www.simplyrecipes.com\/thmb\/5O1Bh3IbUJ0P2c9abdyFr9GVTh4=\/5573x3715\/simply-recipes-mercimek-corbasi-lead-2-copy-41d2135edebc49aea91c4e55b050a2e4.jpg\")
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In my family, there\u2019s a long-standing joke about my version of dal, the classic South Asian lentil dish. My mother claims it\u2019s too watery to count as proper dal and teasingly calls it \u201cdal soup.\u201d I honestly don\u2019t mind because it\u2019s the perfect excuse to lean into my love for soup, and I\u2019ve found a delicious upgrade that makes any soup (dal or otherwise) even better: a tarka<\/strong>.\n<\/p>\n A tarka is a South Asian cooking technique in which spices and aromatics are tempered in hot oil to create a fragrant topping. It\u2019s traditionally used for lentils but is a game-changer for all kinds of soups, adding richness, warmth, and depth of flavor.\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The beauty of a tarka is its adaptability. Start with an oil with a high smoke point, like sunflower, grapeseed, avocado oil, or ghee. If you want the richness of butter but don’t have ghee, add a small amount to the oil\u2014just don\u2019t use butter alone because it will burn.\n<\/p>\n Heat the fat in a small pan until it shimmers. Add whole spices, like cumin or mustard seeds, and let them sizzle until fragrant. Next, toss in aromatics such as minced garlic, ginger, shallots, or onions, and cook until golden and crispy. Finally, take the pan off the heat and stir in ground spices like coriander, cumin, and sweet smoked paprika.\n<\/p>\n Drizzle a teaspoon of the tarka over each bowl of soup just before serving. It looks so pretty with the glossy oil and specks of spices and aromatics.\n<\/p>\n Simply Recipes \/ Karishma Prad<\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n I use this technique for my carrot and butternut squash soup\u2014a winter favorite I make for my son and his friends. I start by heating a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, and throw in a knob of butter. When it starts to foam, I toss in a teaspoon of minced garlic and let it sizzle until golden.\n<\/p>\n I take the pan off the burner and stir in sweet smoked paprika, which goes beautifully with the carrot and butternut squash. Plus, my family loves the crunch of the garlic!\n<\/p>\n This fragrant tarka isn\u2019t limited to squash soups. Try it on broccoli cheddar soup, creamy cauliflower soup, or potato soup.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lentil Soups:<\/strong> Ghee with whole cumin seeds and garlic, finished with a pinch of red chili flakes.\n<\/p>\n Creamy root vegetable or squash soups:<\/strong> Sunflower oil with a knob of butter, minced garlic or shallots, and a sprinkling of ground coriander, cumin, or sweet smoked paprika.\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tarka isn\u2019t just for soups! Drizzle it over steamed basmati rice, on yogurt-based dips, or hummus. I hope you will try this upgrade and come up with your own favorite combinations.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n #Soups #Easy #South #Asian #Upgrade<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In my family, there\u2019s a long-standing joke about my version of dal, the classic South Asian lentil dish. My mother claims it\u2019s too watery to count as proper dal and teasingly calls it \u201cdal soup.\u201d I honestly don\u2019t mind because it\u2019s the perfect excuse to lean into my love for soup, and I\u2019ve found a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[283,80,282,61,98],"class_list":["post-269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dinner","tag-asian","tag-easy","tag-soups","tag-south","tag-upgrade"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artoz.xyz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} How To Make a Tarka <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n A Simple Tarka for Winter Squash Soup <\/span> <\/h2>\n
My Favorite Tarka Combinations <\/span> <\/h2>\n
Other Ways To Use a Tarka <\/span> <\/h2>\n