Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   2      cups          lentils
   1      stick         cinnamon 2 to 3" long
   1      whole         bay leaf
   5      cloves        garlic peeled
   1      inch          e ginger fresh peeled
   1      teaspoon      turmeric ground
     3/4                lemon sliced
   1 1/2  teaspoons     salt
     1/8  teaspoon      pepper black
     1/4  teaspoon      cayenne pepper optional
   3      tablespoons   oil or ghee
   1      pinch         ground asafetida optional
     1/2  teaspoon      whole cumin seed or more

Preparation:

Wash the lentils. Drain. In a 4 quart pot, combine the lentils, 6 cups water, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, garlic, cloves, ginger slices and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer gently until tender, about 45 minutes. Slice lemon into 5 or 6 rounds. Remove seeds. Add lemon slices, salt, black pepper, and cayenne to lentils. Stir. Cover and simmer another 5 minutes. Just before serving, heat the vetetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Put in the asafetida and cumin seeds. As soon as the cumin begins to sizzle and expand and the seeds darken, pour the contents of the skillet over the lentils and stir. To serve: Serve the lentils with rice.