Delicious Dals

[truebluemoon]

Inspired by the contributions of so many people on this forum, I decided to do some work too and thus this thread.
I have been interested in cooking ever since I was 11. (My mom is a moody cook and that helped a lot :lol: ) I started learning the complicated dishes like gobi manchurian, stuffed capsicum etc just out of curiosity. In the process I have been collecting vegetarian and egg recipes for about 15 yrs now.....from tv shows, from cook books, from newspaper and magazine cut-outs and some by experimenting myself.
I will start to post all the dal recipes in my collection on this thread. There may be about 20-25 of them

Lets see how it goes.

Feed back from readers is appreciated.

[truebluemoon]

A very simple dal that can be served along with dinner with some vegetable side. The cooking procedure is fairly simple

JEERA DAL

Prep time: 45 mins Start to finish: 3 hrs

Makes 3-4 servings

1/3 cup masoor dal
1/3 cup toor dal
2 medium sized onions, sliced lengthwise
2 medium sized tomatoes, sliced lengthwise (remove pulp before slicing)
1 tsp cumin seeds;
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp sugar(optional)
6 flakes of garlic, crushed and chopped
3-4 green chillies, finely chopped
a few sprigs of curry leaves
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil/butter

1. Wash and soak the dals atleast for 2 hrs. Cook with lots of water. It should be of a consistency not too thin or not too thick

2. Heat oil in a pan and season with cummin seeds. Add green chillies and garlic. Stir fry for a few seconds on medium heat.

3. Add onions, salt and sugar. Fry till onion turns light brown. Add turmeric powder and the cooked dal.

4. Stir well and simmer on low heat. Add the tomatoes, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Simmer for 5 mins

5. Serve hot with roti or rice

TIP :

Instead of throwing away the tomato pulp, you could save it and use if for rasam or to whip up some quick tomato "gojju".

If you like you dal sour, you could even mash the pulp and add to the dal.

In case you are entertaining and choose this to be the dal, garnish some more with cummin seeds fried in ghee and 2 green chillies slit vertically

[dev]

Great job... I make it a point to take atleast a dhal & a mixed veg,meat(fish ,cicken,eggs) & fruits daily to balance out the diet...So ur dhal recipes will surely help me...A different dhal a day is a good idea... Thanks a lot...:)

[tomato]

Thanx for the recipe tbm, can u post ur quickest and easiest dal recipe pls. I want one to go with mooli, aloo and methi parathas. Since making stuffed paratha takes quite some time i want a dal recipe which take the least time and yet is delicious at the same time.
Thanx in advance.

[truebluemoon]

Hi tomato, here's a very simple dal that can be served with both rice and rotis. It may not be quick for the simple reason that dal takes time to cook. If not, the prep time and actual cooking time is about 10 mins. You can go about the rest of the cooking while the dal cooks.

DAL FRY

A simple dal that can be served with rice/rotis.


Cooking Time from start to finish: 35 mins.
Serves 4.

Ingredients
3/4 cup red masoor dal
1/4 cup yellow moong dal
2-3 green chillies,
1 teaspoon grated ginger or ginger paste
1 teaspoon crushed garlic or garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (or cummin seeds if you prefer it more)
1-2 dry red chillies
1 onion, sliced lengthwise
1 tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons ghee
3 tablespoons chopped coriander
1 tbsp butter or cream for topping(optional)
Method
1. Wash the dals and cook with water along with ginger, garlic, turmeric, salt and broken green chillies. The dal should be well done and not too watery. Mash the dal a bit with the back of the ladel

2. Heat the ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds,and red chilli.Add onions and fry till light brown.

3. Add tomato and fry for 2 mins. Add the dals and simmer on medium heat for 5 mins

4.Garnish with coriander and top with cream/butter (optional)

Serve hot with rotis/parathas

TIPS

* In case dal is being served with roti, it needs to be a little thicker
* Take note that dal thickens a bit as it cools or loses temperature
* Try using ghee rather than oil for tempering dal. It tastes better and the quantity of ghee isn't too much to be minded. (It rarely exceeds 1-2 tbsp)

[truebluemoon]

QUICK MASOOR DAL

1 cup whole masoor dal
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ginger, grated
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup tomatoes, grated
2-3 green chillies, slit
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp dhania powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

1. Wash dal and cook with water, salt and ginger until dal is soft

2. Heat oil in a pan. Season with cumin and bay leaves. Add tomatoes and stir fry till oil separates.

3. Add green chillies, garam masala, dhania powder and chilli powder and mix well.

4. Add dal and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 mins

5. Serve hot, with coriander leaves as garnish

[Thattai]

Hi TBM,

I don't want to hijack ur thread, but there are a few recipes that I could also share, if you don't mind... And pls don't be polite, I can always give them in other threads if required...

[truebluemoon]

Hey Thattai
Go ahead, this isn't "my" thread, besides I am caught up with things and not able to post on a daily basis
Maybe I can get more dal recipes from you now :)

[truebluemoon]

This is a variation of the hariyali dal. Instead of mixing in sauteed/cooked greens with dal, the greens are pureed to give this dal a unique green color

GREEN PUDINA DAL

Prep time: 45 mins

Serves 2

1/2 cup toor dal
1 cup spinach leaves
1/3 cup pudina leaves
3 green chillies
1/4 cup coriander leaves
1 tsp cummin seeds
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1 tbsp of grated ginger
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cream/butter (optional)
salt to taste
1 tbsp ghee/oil


1. Soak toor dal in cold water for an hr. Cook with sufficient water and salt.

2. Blanch all the green leaves and let it cool. Puree the mixture with green chillies and set aside.

3.Heat oil in a pan. Add cummin seeds, onions and garlic. Add about half the quantity of ginger. Fry till onion turns light brown.

4. Add dal to the pan and also the purred greens. Add salt and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

5. Once done, turn off heat and add lemon juice. Garnish with the rest of the ginger and a spot of cream if you like.

[Thattai]

Cool TBM - will do so soon... weekends are usually busy times, so will post something on Monday. Ciao!

[Thattai]

Hey! And I like the sound of the HAriyali dal, esp wrt the colour. I tried a similar dal fm the Dhabha recipe thread and even though the taste was good, I was disappointed that the dal was not green. So will give ur variation a shot the next time round... :D

[truebluemoon]

I remember watching one of the first few episodes of Sanjeev Kapoor's cookery show and that's where I got the hariyali dal
Hope u like it thattai

[tomato]

Hi tbm,
Tried ur green pudina dal. Simply delicious and extremely nutritious.
Yet to try the quick dal recipes u've posted on my request. Will try soon and post the feedback.

[truebluemoon]

Thanks tomato.
I am not able to post recipes on a daily basis as promised, but I will try to post one every 2-3 days.

[truebluemoon]

NAWABI DAL

This dal is fairly rich, but has a unique taste. It is quite similar to shahi dal. I have even tried varying this dal by making it with whole green moong dal, and the result was almost as good. Its best served with Rotis or parathas.

Prep time:40 mins

Serves 4

1 cup (200 gms) black masur dal
1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
2 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
1 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 pieces of amchur or 1 tsp amchur powder
1 tsp grated ginger
2 green chillies, chopped
2 tsp mint leaves
3 tbsp ghee
3-4 red chillies
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped

1. Boil dal in a pan, along with chilli powder, salt, ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder. Cover and cook until dal is done

2. Add mint leaves, chillies, amchur and ginger and cook for a minute.

3. Heat ghee in a pan and fry red chillies and garlic and add to dal.

4. Cover and cook for 2 mins. Serve hot with rotis/paranthas

[Thattai]

Hi TBM,

This is my contribution to Delicious Dals...

I love dals that also have vegetables in them. I make a lot of dals from this book called The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi. She was a disciple and later the personal cook of Swami Prabhupada. The following is one of her recipes. It goes very well with phulkas or chappatis.

Golden Pumpkin Toovar Dal – Toovar Kaddu Dal (serves 5 or 6)
2/3 cup split toovar dal or yellow split peas
6½ cups water
1 cup peeled pumpkin or other winter squash cut into ½” cubes*
1 tsp scraped, minced fresh ginger
1 tsp minced hot green chilli (or as desired)
3 tbsps fresh lemon or lime juice
1 cassia or bay leaf
½ tsp turmeric
3 tbsps ghee or vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 whole dried red chilly
1 tbsp sugar or equivalent sweetener
¼ tsp yellow asafetida powder
6-8 small curry leaves, preferably fresh
2 tbsps minced fresh parsley or coarsely chopped coriander

1. Sort and wash toovar dal. Soak in 3cups of hot water for 3 hours (5 hours if using yellow split peas). Drain well.

2. Place the dal, water, pumpkin, ginger root, green chilli, lemon juice, cassia or bay leaf, turmeric and ½ tbsp ghee or oil in a heavy nonstick saucepan. Stirring frequently, bring to a full bol over high heat. Reduce heat to moderately low, cover with a tight fitting lid and boil for 1 hour or until the dal is soft and fully cooked**. Remove from the heat, pick out the cassia or bay leaf and add salt. Beat with a wire whisk or a rotary beater until the dal is creamy.

3. Heat the remaining ghee or oil in a small pan over moderate heat. When it is hot, stir in the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, black mustard seeds, dried red chilli and sweetener in rapid succession. Stir fry until the sweetener caramalises and turns a rich reddish-brown. Remove from the heat. Drop in the asafetida and curry leaves, and after a couple of seconds, pour into the cooked dal. Cover immediately and allow the spices to infuse into the dal for 1-2 minutes. Add the minced herb, stir and serve.

*You can get subtle variations in flavour by using a different kind of squash each time you make the dal.
**If you are using yellow split peas, the cooking time may be longer.
PS: If you are in a hurry, you can also pressure cook all the items in step two and continue as mentioned after the dal is cooked. There may be some variation in the final output, but will still be good.

[Sowmya]

[tscii:8019ae19d8]Hi Thattai and all
This is a great recipe.Simply loved it :D .Please do keep this thread going..
A MUST TRY RECIPE!

regards
sowmya



Hi TBM,

This is my contribution to Delicious Dals...

I love dals that also have vegetables in them. I make a lot of dals from this book called The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi. She was a disciple and later the personal cook of Swami Prabhupada. The following is one of her recipes. It goes very well with phulkas or chappatis.

Golden Pumpkin Toovar Dal – Toovar Kaddu Dal (serves 5 or 6)
2/3 cup split toovar dal or yellow split peas
6½ cups water
1 cup peeled pumpkin or other winter squash cut into ½” cubes*
1 tsp scraped, minced fresh ginger
1 tsp minced hot green chilli (or as desired)
3 tbsps fresh lemon or lime juice
1 cassia or bay leaf
½ tsp turmeric
3 tbsps ghee or vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 whole dried red chilly
1 tbsp sugar or equivalent sweetener
¼ tsp yellow asafetida powder
6-8 small curry leaves, preferably fresh
2 tbsps minced fresh parsley or coarsely chopped coriander

1. Sort and wash toovar dal. Soak in 3cups of hot water for 3 hours (5 hours if using yellow split peas). Drain well.

2. Place the dal, water, pumpkin, ginger root, green chilli, lemon juice, cassia or bay leaf, turmeric and ½ tbsp ghee or oil in a heavy nonstick saucepan. Stirring frequently, bring to a full bol over high heat. Reduce heat to moderately low, cover with a tight fitting lid and boil for 1 hour or until the dal is soft and fully cooked**. Remove from the heat, pick out the cassia or bay leaf and add salt. Beat with a wire whisk or a rotary beater until the dal is creamy.

3. Heat the remaining ghee or oil in a small pan over moderate heat. When it is hot, stir in the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, black mustard seeds, dried red chilli and sweetener in rapid succession. Stir fry until the sweetener caramalises and turns a rich reddish-brown. Remove from the heat. Drop in the asafetida and curry leaves, and after a couple of seconds, pour into the cooked dal. Cover immediately and allow the spices to infuse into the dal for 1-2 minutes. Add the minced herb, stir and serve.

*You can get subtle variations in flavour by using a different kind of squash each time you make the dal.
**If you are using yellow split peas, the cooking time may be longer.
PS: If you are in a hurry, you can also pressure cook all the items in step two and continue as mentioned after the dal is cooked. There may be some variation in the final output, but will still be good.


[/tscii:8019ae19d8]

[RedPepper]

I didn't know a thread about dal existed. We love dal, and I always looks for various recipes. Hoping to find some here. :)

[ayeshasadique]

hi, in south we make a dal, vegetable and mutton dish called 'dalcha' that goes well with roti, bagare chawal, etc. especially with biriyani!!

DALCHA
lamb/mutton - 500g , cut into pieces (on the bone)
oil - 50 ml
whole garam masala(cardamom, cinnamon, cloves) - 5g
onion - 1 large, chopped
tomatoes -2 large, chopped
garlic paste - 1 tbsp
ginger paste -2 tbsp
potato - 1 large, large cubes
brinjal - 3 to 4 small, large cubes
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
red chilli powder - 2 tsp
coriander powder - 4 tsp
cumin powder - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
mixed dal (toor, channa) - 1 cup
coconut milk - 1/2 cup
tamarind - size of a large lemon(soaked)
coriander leaves -a few sprigs, chopped
mint - a few sprigs
curry leaves - a handful

method:
Cook dals with turmeric, mash and keep aside.
Heat oil and add whole garam masala, followed by onions.
When onions are light brown, add mutton pieces and fry.
When brown, add ginger and garlic pastes; fry well.
Add tomatoes, brinjal, potato and the dry spice powders. Fry
Add water and salt. Cook till mutton is done.
Add tamarind pulp, cooked dal, followed by all the other ingredients and bring to boil.
Serve with biriyani/bagare chawal/roti.

[dev]

Dalcha is a delicious dish... But I usually avoid meat & use only vegs... & coconut milk too is reduced or even omitted when I prepare it... but still it tastes really good... I uses Baba masala availabe in singapore...

[ayeshasadique]

hi
in my house the dining rule is something like...
''gosht nahi khaaya to kya khaaya''

if i make a vegetarian lunch/dinner, the dishes remain left (for me to eat)....

[vm]

Dear Dev and ayesha,

How to make dalcha without meat or can we substitute with tofu/paneer?

[ayeshasadique]

hi vm
dalcha is a dal and veg dish basically...it can be made without meat...just cut off the meat in the list given and add more vegetables or cut down the spices accordingly
the same dish can be made with vegetables like pumpkin/doodhi/lauki also.
as far as i know, paneer/tofu cannot be used....but may be someone comes out with such a recipe too!!

[rain]

hi dev and ayesha,

mmmm....i am itching to try this dalcha.can u do with any other combi. of dal say like masoor......since we r using toor for sambar always? have some tandoor masala too unopened maybe now i can use it :)

regards,
rain

[ayeshasadique]

hi vm
just omit the meat and add more vegetables in the same dalcha recipe
or decrease the spices
pumpkin/lauki can be substituted for potatoes and brinjal

[ayeshasadique]

yes rain,
i have tried a combination of toor, chana and masoor...it was good

[rain]

thanks ayesha, will try and let u know.

regards,
rain

[dsath]

I made the dalcha for dinner tonight and it turned out great. Many thanks for sharing the recipe. Keep the good work going....... :)

[ayeshasadique]

hi thnx dsath...
i do look forward to share all the recipes i know and iam really glad to get good feedbacks :)

[cynthia_a02]

Dear Ayesha,
tried the dalcha.its very nice.but i didn't add coconut milk.thanks for such a nice receipe.

[ayeshasadique]

posted dalcha long back, but missed a few things ....raw mango can also be added...some people use raw banana too..., drumsticks also.