Place garlic in the food processor and chop till fine. Add the onions and chop once again. You can do it by hand too. It doesn’t matter if the pieces are sliced rather than chopped.

Heat the oil in a large pot and brown the cumin seeds for a few minutes, stirring every minute or so.

Add onions and garlic to the cumin seed and saute for five or ten minutes, until soft.

Add lentils and water. Heat until boiling, then lower the heat and cook for 60 minutes. You may need to add extra water. If using a pressure cooker cook for 20 minutes.

When the lentils are soft, add salt and serve. Salting at the end helps the lentils retain their color.