DALS… Can’t have enough of them! Must-Try recipes from Across India
India is one of the few countries that is blessed with variety in almost every aspect, food being the most obvious one. The unquestionable love and celebration of good food has been bringing people together for many years, and when we think of good food, one of our most loved preparations comes to mind – the quintessential Dal.
From Dal Makhani to Panchratna Dal, it is the undying love for this flavoursome and versatile staple that most Indian households include in our daily diet. And each region in the country has its own favourite way of preparing them.
Panchratna Dal (Five Lentil Mix)
The Panchratna dal was popular in the Mewar gharana of Rajasthan and Jodhabai is credited with introducing it to Mughal chefs after she married Akbar. The Dal is made using five different lentils with a tempering of spices in clarified butter, this is what gives this dal a nice smokey flavour.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Mixed Lentils [Equal amounts of Yellow Split Peas (Chana), Green Split Moong (Moong), Split Red Lentils (Masoor), Yellow Pigeon Peas (Toor), Split gram lentil (Urad)
- 2 cardamom
- 2 cloves
- 1 green chilli, slit
- 2-3 dried red chillies
- ½ tsp ginger, crushed
- 1-2 small onion, chopped
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- 1 pinch asafoetida
- 2-3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)/Oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions:
- Wash the Dal well and soak for an hour. Drain the water and add the dal to a medium-sized pan along with 4 cups of water. Boil well until fully cooked. Mash the dal lightly.
- In another pan heat oil or ghee and add cumin seeds. Then add the cloves, cardamoms, broken red chilies.
- Add the crushed ginger, onion and green chilly. Fry them till the raw aroma of ginger goes away. Add the chopped tomatoes, asafoetida, turmeric powder and garam masala powder. Saute on a low heat till the tomatoes become soft and mushy.
- Add this fried tempering mixture to the dal.
- Mix well. Simmer the dal for 10 minutes so that the flavors of the spices infuse well with the lentils. Add salt and mix well.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with roti/rice.