Urad ni Dal

As you’ve been reading the blog for a few months now, I hope you have found happiness in these home cooked food recipes. When we eat a traditional Indian meal at home with roti, a vegetable dish (shaak), and rice, we always have a bowl of dal (lentils) as well. The dal recipe below, Urad Dal, is comprised of mild spices with a ghee tempering. It goes well with Bajra Rotla during the cold winter months. Enjoy!

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup split black beans (urad ni dal)
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 3 to 4 pieces of kokum (washed and soaked)
• 2 to 3 green chillies (cut it in half)
• 3 to 4 curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon dhana jeera powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• Pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh green coriander leaves to garnish
• 4 cups of water (approximately)

Directions:

1. First, wash and drain the dal.
2. On a medium flame, in a pot or pan, boil the pre-soaked dal in 4 cups of water.
3. Stir occasionally for 15 minutes or so until the dal is tender
4. Add salt, turmeric powder, kokum, green chili, chana, jeera powder and curry leaves
5. Stir and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes
6. On a separate low flame, heat ghee in a ladle for tempering. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. As they crackle, add hing and onion. Sauté the onion until it gets light brown. Then, add ginger and garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Finally, add red chili powder.
7. Pour the tempering into the dal and mix well. Simmer for another 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with bajra rotla or roti.

Note:

For Jains, you may omit the onion, garlic and ginger.