For vegetarians in India, dal (legumes) is a main source of protein. Varieties of dal is available through out India and each region has a unique way of preparing dal for a meal. The most common variety of dal used all over India is toover dal (split pigeon peas). It is usually served with rice.
Gujarati Dal
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
This sweet and sour split pigeon peas soup is part of Gujarati thali (plate) and served almost everyday. The use of jaggery in dal is more common in Gujarat than any other region in India.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup oily or unoily toover dal (split pigeon peas), uncooked
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- Small (golf ball size) piece of jaggary or 3 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon dhana-jeeru (spice blend of ground coriander and cumin)
- 1 teaspoon or to taste finely chopped or minced jalapeno or serrano chili
- ½ teaspoon finely minced ginger
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, for garnish
For Vaghar (tempering):
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ⅛ teaspoon asafetida
- 5 to 6 curry leaves
- 1 whole dry red chili (optional)
- Pinch of red chili powder (optional)
Directions
- Wash split pigeon peas few times. For oily dal make sure all the oil is washed off. Soak in about 1 ½ cups of water for 1 to 2 hours or until peas are soft in a medium size soup pot. (Soaking is optional but it will reduce cooking time).
- Add diced tomato. Cover with a lid and cook it with water on a medium heat until peas are very soft, about one hour. Once the dal is cooked, take off the heat.
- Add ½ cup of water and mix it with a whisk or an immersion blender until it has a consistency of slightly thick soup.
- Start heating the dal on medium heat. Add salt, jaggary, turmeric, dhana-jeeru, green chili and ginger. Stir dal and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on low heat or a simmer burner.
- To cook dal in instant pot: Wash and soak dal in instant pot container. Set instant pot on pressure cook setting and cook dal for 20 minutes (for unsoaked dal increase time to 30 minutes). Once dal is cooked, release steam and follow step 3. Next, set instant pot to sauté and follow step 4. Reduce simmer time to 5 minutes.
- In a separate small sauce or frying pan, heat oil on medium high heat until shimmering. Add fenugreek seeds and let them sizzle. Lower the heat, add mustard and cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add asafetida, curry leaves, red chili and chili powder. Pour oil with spices over dal. Mix it with dal, add lemon juice and let it simmer for two to three minutes. Garnish with cilantro before serving. Serve warm along with meal of Indian flat bread and vegetable, and over rice.
Notes
You can follow this same recipe for whole and split mung beans, split lentils and black-eyed peas mix with split pigeon peas. Do not use mustard and fenugreek seeds, instead, use only 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds.
Lachko Mag Ni Dal
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
This type of dal (lachko) is often served with Kathi (yogurt and chickpea flour soup) in Gujarati Thali. It is thicker than soup like dal often served with a meal.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup mung dal (without skin)
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- Pinch of asafetida
- ¾ teaspoons turmeric
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Water as needed
Directions
- Pick through mung dal and rinse it.
- Heat two tablespoons of oil in a medium sized pot over medium high heat. Add ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds and let them sizzle. Add asafetida, turmeric and chili powder. Add 1 ½ cups of water, rinsed dal and season with salt. Stir everything. Partially cover the pot and let it come to boil. Once it comes to boil, uncover the pot and let dal cook until the foam on top subsides, about 7 minutes. Cover the pot and let dal cook for another two minutes or until tender.
- Serve warm with Paratha or Rotali or over rice with Kathi.
Tarka Dal
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- ¾ cup uncooked masoor dal (split red lentils)
- 1 medium size tomato, finely diced
- ½ jalapeno chili or serrano chili, finely minced (optional)
- 1 inch piece of ginger, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon dhana jeeru (spice blend of ground coriander and cumin)
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro, for garnish
- 1 ½ cups of water
For Tarka (tempering):
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ medium size yellow or red onion, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 2-3 dry red chili
- Pinch of red chili powder
- ⅛ teaspoon garam masala
Directions
- Rinse dal and transfer to medium size soup pot. Add 1 ½ cups of water and let dal soak for 30 to 40 minutes. (Soaking is optional but it will speed up cooking).
- Add tomato, cover the pot with a lid, and cook dal for about 45 minutes or until dal is cooked.
- After dal is cooked, start heating dal on a medium heat. Add salt, turmeric, and dhana jeeru, green chili and ginger. Mix well. Let dal simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a separate small sauce or frying pan, heat oil on a medium heat until shimmering. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add garlic, onion, garam masala and sauté them until onion is light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add whole chili and chili powder and sauté it for one minute and pour everything on top of the dal. Stir the dal and let it simmer for one minute. Add lemon juice and let it simmer for two more minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve over rice or as a soup.
- To cook dal in instant pot: Follow step one. Set instant pot on sauté setting for 20 minutes. Heat oil until shimmering. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add garlic, onion, green chili, garam masala and sauté them until onion is light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add whole chili and chili powder and sauté it for one minute. Add tomato and ginger and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour dal over Tarka and add salt, turmeric, dhana-jeeru and lemon juice. Add ½ cup water. Set instant pot to pressure cooker setting and cook dal for 20 minutes. (for unsoaked dal increase time to 30 minutes). Release steam and set instant pot to sauté setting for 10 minutes. (Optional: Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil in small frying pan or soup pot until shimmering. Add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add pinch of chili powder and pour over dal. This will enhances flavor of dal). Garnish with cilantro and serve over rice or as a soup.
Sambhar
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Sambhar is a staple of South Indian cuisine. It is served with variety of dishes like idali (steamed rice cakes), Dosa (crepes of dal and rice), Medu Vada (dal fritters) and Uttapam (rice and dal pancakes with vegetables).
Ingredients
- 1 cup toover dal (split pigeon peas)
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 1 cup mixed vegetables like eggplant, zucchini and carrot, diced
- 5 to 6 pieces of sargavo (drum sticks), See Note.
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 ½ teaspoons dhana-jeeru (spice blend of ground coriander and cumin)
- 2 teaspoons sambhar masala, See Note.
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste or 2 tablespoons lemon juice
For Tarka:
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon asafetida
- 1 tablespoon urad dal (optional)
- 12-15 curry leaves
- 1 small yellow or red onion, ¼ inch diced
- 1-2 dry red chilies (optional)
Directions
- Wash split pigeon peas few times. For oily dal make sure all the oil is washed off. Soak dal in about 2 cups of water for 1 to 2 hours or until peas are soft in a medium size soup pot. (Soaking is optional).
- Add diced tomato. Cover with a lid and cook it with water on a medium heat until peas are very soft, about one hour. Once the dal is cooked, take off the heat.
- Add ½ cup of water and mix it with a whisk or an immersion blender until it has a consistency of slightly thick soup.
- Start heating the dal on medium heat. Add salt, turmeric, dhana-jeeru and sambhar masala. Add mixed vegetables and drum sticks. Stir dal and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on low heat or a simmer burner. Next, follow step 6.
- To cook sambhar in instant pot: Wash split pigeon peas few times. For oily dal make sure all the oil is washed off. Soak dal in about 2 cups of water for 1 to 2 hours or until peas are soft in a medium size soup pot. (soaking is optional but it will speed up cooking process). Add diced tomatoes. Set instant pot to pressure cooker setting and cook dal for 20 minutes. (for unsoaked dal increase time to 30 minutes). Once dal is cooked, release steam and follow step 3. Next, set instant pot to sauté for 15 minutes and follow step 4. Reduce simmer time to 10 minutes. Next, follow step 6.
- For Tarka: In a separate small sauce or frying pan, heat oil on medium high heat until shimmering. Add fenugreek seeds and let them sizzle. Add urad dal and sauté until light brown. Lower the heat, add mustard and cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add asafetida, curry leaves, red chili and chili powder. Pour oil with everything over sambhar. Mix it with sambhar, add lemon juice or tamarind pulp and let it simmer for two to three minutes. Garnish with cilantro before serving.
Notes
You can get sambhar masala and also mixed vegetables which includes drum sticks for making sambhar in frozen section in Indian grocery store.
Bengali Dal
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
In Bengal (Eastern part of Indian), Panch Poran (five spices) is widely used in recipes.The combination of five spices gives unique flavor.
Ingredients
Panch Poran: (five spice mixture)
- ½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon nigella seeds
Dal:
- ¾ cup uncooked masoor dal (split red lentils)
- 1 medium size tomato or ¼ cup tomato puree
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- ½ medium size yellow or red onion, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 ½ cups of water
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro, for garnish
For Tarka (tempering):
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
Directions
- Rinse dal and add 1 ½ cups of water and let dal soak for 30 to 40 minutes in a mixing bowl. (Soaking is optional but it will speed up cooking).
- Combine spices of panch poran in a small bowl and set aside.
- Roughly cut tomato and make a puree either in food processor or with hand blender with ½ a cup of water. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Omit this step if you are using tomato puree.
- Heat oil in a medium size soup pot until shimmering. Add panch poran and let seeds sizzle. Add onion and sauté until light golden brown. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add dal with water, season with salt and turmeric. Stir dal to combine with spices. Cover the pot with a lid, and cook for about 45 minutes or until dal is cooked. Stir dal occasionally so it does not boil over.
- After dal is cooked, start heating dal on a medium heat. Pass fresh tomato puree through a sieve. Add fresh puree or puree to dal. Let dal simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Make tarka: In a separate small sauce or frying pan, heat oil on a medium heat until shimmering. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Pour tarka on top of the dal. Stir the dal and let it simmer for one minute. Garnish with cilantro and serve over rice or as a soup.
- To cook dal in instant pot: Follow step one to three. Set instant pot on sauté setting for 20 minutes. Heat oil until shimmering. Add panch poran and let all seeds sizzle. Add onion and sauté until onion is light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté it for 30 seconds. Add dal along with water, season with salt and turmeric. Pass fresh tomato puree through a sieve. Add fresh puree or puree to dal. Set instant pot to pressure cooker setting and cook dal for 20 minutes. (for unsoaked dal increase time to 30 minutes). Release steam and again set instant pot to sauté setting. While dal is simmering to prepare tarka, follow step 6.