Dal

Hmmmm, how best to expain this? The way i understand it,basically Dal just refers to lentils be they cooked or raw. So if you see a dish with the word Dal or sometimes Dhal, then you know it contains lentils of some kind. Re the garam masala, it is not something that vegetarian Indians usually use as it's primarily for meat dishes but it's ok in this dish in small quantities - 1/2 tsp. When using and mixing spices it's all to do with personal taste and experimentation. The more familiar you become with each spice the easier it will be for you to determine how much to use. I don't know how much you used and if you only used garam masala in the dish you were cooking at the time but generally you need a couple of different spices to give a dish different 'notes' a bit like a perfume. Perhaps you used too much and that's why it was hot? I'm not sure if like chili powder, you can get garam masala in different strenghts or not - the only way i can think of making it milder is to mix all the ingredients together yourself or, as i say, use less. I do know though, that it's common for alot of asian cooks to make their own concoctions of spices and curry powders - different ones for different dishes, this is where the real fun and experimenting begins!! Re heat of the curry paste - use a medium one as i suggested as mild will have coconut in it(common to cool and remove heat from dishes) and you are going to add coconut milk so don't need any more! Hot i think is unsuitable as it drowns the subtle flavour of the lentils and cauliflower. Quality does vary with spices and curry paste but unfortunatley i'm not familiar with the brands in the U.S so i can't recommend a good one. There is a real learning curve involved in Indian cookery and plenty of easy to challenging recipes to master so it is an interesting subject. Sorry i've gone on a bit but it's a lengthy subject. Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask! Have a good Easter

Best Wishes

Karen