GUJARATI DAL

                                   GUJARATI DAL

                             (Serves 4)

Gujarati Thali is incomplete without Gujarati Dal and it is absolutely delicious. Gujarati dal has a perfect balance of sweetness, tanginess and spiciness. Gujarati Dal served with Basmati Rice, Roti and Vegetable to complete Gujarati meal. This Dal recipe will remind you of “Lagan Ni Dal” (Dal of Gujarati Wedding Menu)

INGREDIENTS:

·      2/3 cup Oily Toor Dal (Also known as Oily Tuvar Dal, Oily Arhar Dal)

·      10-15 piece Boiled Peanuts

·      ½ tsp. Turmeric Powder, divided in 2 parts, add ¼ tsp. while pressure cooking dal and add remaining ¼ tsp. while adding all dry masalas, adding turmeric while boiling dal it developed better taste and color of the dal

·      ¾ tsp. Salt or as per taste, divided in two parts, add ¼ tsp. while pressure cooking dal and add remaining ½ tsp. while adding all dry masalas, adding salt while boiling dal it develops better taste

·      1 medium size or ½ cup Tomato (Preferably dark red and ripe tomato), diced

·      1 ½ inch size Tamarind (soak in ¼ cup hot water, after 5 minutes,

squeeze and extract the pulp, strain it and use) or 1 ½ to 2 tsp. Thick Tamarind Chutney. I always add Tamarind Chutney as it adds extra flavor compare to Tamarind Extract

·      1 ½ to 2 cm size Ginger (crush ginger and green chilies together in mortar and pestle)

·      2 Green Chilies or as per taste (crush ginger and green chilies together in mortar and pestle)

·      2 Big marble size or 2 to 3 T Jaggery or as per taste (For authentic Gujarati Dal taste add at least 2 T Jaggery)

·      2 tsp. Sugar or as per taste (For authentic Gujarati Dal taste add 2 tsp. Sugar)

·      ½ tsp. Kashmiri Red Chili Powder

·      1 tsp. Coriander Powder

·      ½ tsp. Cumin Powder

·      ½ tsp. Mango Powder (Aamchur Powder)

·      1 tsp. Tomato Paste

·      ¼ tsp. Garam Masala (Badshah Rajwadi Garam Masala)

·      1 T Coriander Leaves, chopped (adding chopped coriander leaves while cooking dal develops better taste)

·      4 cups TOTAL Water (2 cups for pressure cooking dal and 1 ¾ cups for diluting dal and extra ¼ cup from tamarind water) or as needed for desire consistency

FOR TEMPERING:

·      4 tsp. Oil + 2 tsp. Ghee (Clarified Butter) (Do not skip Ghee, it gives extraordinary taste to the dal)

·      ½ tsp. Mustard Seeds

·      ½ tsp. Cumin Seeds

·      1” size Cinnamon Stick

·      3 Cloves

·      2 Whole Dry Kashmiri Red Chilies (cut them in half)

·      7-8 Curry Leaves

·      1/8 tsp. Asafoetida (Hing)

·      1/8 tsp. Kashmiri Red Chili Powder (Gives nice red oil floating on top)

·      1/8 tsp. Turmeric Powder (Gives nice dark yellow color on top)

FOR GARNISH:

·      1 to 2 T Coriander Leaves

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LET’S COOK:

Wash the toor dal for 3-4 times.

Add toor dal, 1/4 tsp. turmeric, 1/4 tsp. salt and 2 cups of water in pressure cooker, cover and let dal soak for 30 minutes.

Pressure-cook the dal on medium heat (Medium heat from start to the finish) for 5 whistles.

Allow pressure to go down.

Add 1-¾ cups of water and blend the dal with hand mixer until smooth.

Transfer dal into the pot; add boiled peanuts, chopped tomatoes and ¼ cup extract of tamarind juice or tamarind chutney. Place pot on stove on high heat and let it come to a boil.

Once dal comes to a boil, reduce the flame to medium and add crushed ginger-green chili, jaggery, red chili powder, remaining ¼ tsp. turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, mango powder, tomato paste, chopped coriander leaves and salt.

At this point adjust water according to your need. (Total 4 cups water including tamarind water for 2/3-cup raw toor dal gives nice thick

consistency, so I don’t add extra water at all at this point)

Allow dal to simmer for 10 -15 minutes on medium heat.

Lower the heat on medium low and on side prepare tempering/tadka.

FOR TEMPERING/TADKA:

In a ladle combine asafoetida, Kashmiri red chili powder and turmeric powder to add all at once, keep aside.

Heat oil and ghee in small pan, add mustard seeds, let it pop, add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, dry red chili, curry leaves, let it sizzle for few seconds, switch off the flame.

Add asafoetida, Kashmiri red chili powder and turmeric powder all at once from ladle and give quick stir to the pan to mix with hot oil and pour this tempering over dal.

Mix tempering with dal.

Add garam masala.

Taste dal and adjust sweetness, sourness and salt if needed.

Let dal cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes only.

Switch off the flame and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot Gujarati Dal with Basmati Rice, Roti and Veggie of your choice for a perfect Gujarati Meal.
Enjoy…

NOTE:

Use Kokum or Lemon Juice to replace Tamarind, but nothing comes close to the Guajarati Dal made with the Tamarind.Click on the link below to like my "RASOI" Page. 
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