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Originally Posted by raatkirani2005

That's all you need--a pot. Rinse and soak daal in water for a few hours (or overnight for tougher daals, like kabuli chanay, maash/urid).
The following is a basic recipe for daals like masoor, moong, chana, sabat masoor, etc. Maash daal won't cook well with this method.
In the pot, add soaked daal, and add water until daal is well covered and there is an inch of water over them. Start boiling on high heat, then reduce to medium low. You can add a little salt, chili pepper and a pinch of turmeric ot water. The daal will cook itself in a couple of hours. You'll see that it's becomes soupy with time and by all means add extra water if needed to maintain consistency. If you keep the heat to medium low, it won't stick to the bottom and burn. Some people say not to overstir that daal while cooking it, otherwise it won't soften. Just stir every so often to see that it's okay. Once it's soft and soupy, you can do a tarka for flavor (some people call it a baghaar, but I'm Punjabi, so tarka it is). In a separate frypan, heat oil with some finely chopped onions, cumin seeds, and chopped garlic. Fry until onion has browned and carefully pour the contents of frypan (including the oil) into the daal pot. Stir through and you're done. Garnish with 1/2 tsp garam masala and cilantro.

Thanks for the help... I'm going to do it! But I may need some translation for some of that... (like I don't know what tarka is - is it like a spice or a stick of something, or a veggie, or other?)