Author puts down a dish of lentils (4)
I believe the answer is:
dhal
'dish of lentils' is the definition.
'dhal' can be an answer for 'dish' (I have seen 'Indian dish ' mean 'dhal' so perhaps 'dish' could also mean 'dhal'). I am not sure about the 'of lentils' bit.
I don't understand the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dhal that I've seen before include "Split pulses (in Indian cookery)" , "Seeds being split" , "Indian dish of dried seeds" , "Indian puree of pulses" , "Pigeon-pea" .)