Gujarati Dal

A delicacy in any non Guajarati household and a staple diet for a Guajarati. A tangy, sweet and sour dal can tingle your senses.

Serves: 4 persons

Cooking time: 40 minutes (includes cooking of dal) Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup tuvar dal/toor dal/arhar dal/yellow lentils
• ¼ cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1 sliced green chilli
• 5 curry leaves
• ¼ teaspoon asafoetida
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 inch long cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon skinned peanuts
• 1 tablespoon jaggery
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
• Salt to taste

Method

Cook the Tuvar Dal. See Cooking Dals, Legumes and Beans

Whisk the dal well until well mashed and mushy

Heat oil in a pan; add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, cinnamon stick and allow it to crackle

Add tomatoes, turmeric powder, asafoetida, red chilli powder and sauté until the tomatoes are soft

Now add the cooked dal, salt, jaggery, peanuts and approximately 2 cups of water. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes.

Turn off heat and add coriander leaves and serve hot with a sabzi, phulka’s and rice

Note: The consistency of the dal should be of pouring consistency. The amount of water you add depends on the amount of water that was left back when you cooked the dal. Just make sure it’s not so watery like whey and not as thick that it’s difficult to drink.