Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Many dal recipes, especially South Indian ones, include a teaspoon of dried dal with the whole spices (mustard seed, fenugreek, ginger) in oil or ghee at the beginning of cooking. What purpose does this serve? I'm not clear that I can taste them, but it's a very common technique.

Huh. Thickening?

It seems to give the dishes a sort or nutty flavor, though sometimes so little is used that I wonder how it could be noticeable. Something I really notice it in are some masalas, in which a large amount of dal are toasted (often coated with oil first, to give that fried flavor), then ground up with the spices.