DAL
Lentils or pulses have an important role in Indian cuisine and are an important part of our daily meals. Daal made of different kinds of lentils. Any Indian meal, be it lunch or dinner, is considered incomplete without daal. These lentils are the comfort food for every household in India. These is a wide variety of Lentils available in India. The color varies from yellow, green, brown, orange and red to deep black, these tiny disc-shaped members of the legume family are eaten in some form at least twice a day . India is one of the biggest producer as well as consumer of lentils. These lentils have a high nutritional value, which is very healthy for all age groups. The lentils include some essential proteins like amino acids isoleucine and lysine and sprouted lentils contain sufficient levels of all essential amino acids, including methionine and cystine. They also contain nutrients, fiber, complex carbohydrates, and folic acld. It is a low calorie, low fat and cholesterol free food.
Lentils or Dal form an important part of any Indian meal. Usually served as a side dish, they are a tasty way to get your protein for the day. Across the country, different types of dals are available and people prepare it in different ways. It is regularly eaten with rice and vegetables in Southern India, and with both rice and roti in Northern India. Dal is a ready source of proteins for a balanced diet containing little or no meat. In South India, dal is primarily used to make the dish called sambar. Sambar is a spicy soup of toor dal and vegetables and is cooked with tamarind , asafoetida and some vegetables. The choice of vegetables affects the taste of the dal. It is eaten with rice or rice dishes. Find below some important Dal recipes for you to give a try.
DAL WITH SPINACH RECIPE 
Ingredients
Moong dal
3/4 cup
Chopped onion
1
Cumin seeds
1 tbsp
Chopped spinach
1 cup
Amchur mango powder
2 tbsp
Chopped tomato
1
Turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp
Oil
4 tbsp
Salt according to taste
To be ground into a paste:
Garlic
6 cloves
Green chillies
3
Ginger
1/2 tbsp
Method
- Cook the dal in 3 cups of water.
- Heat the oil, add the onion and cumin seeds and fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the cooked dal, the spinach, amchur (mango powder) powder, tomato, turmeric powder, paste and salt.
- Boil for 5 minutes. Serve hot.
SUKHI DAL RECIPE
Ingredients
Brad dal
1 cup
Onion sliced
1 cup
Corainder finely chopped
1 tbsp
Cinnamon
1 stick
Cardamoms
2-3
Cloves
2
Bay leaf
1
Cumin seeds
1 tbsp
Turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp
Pepper powder
1/2 tbsp
Salt according to taste
Lemon juice
1 tbsp
Oil
2 tbsp
Serve with hot rice or paratha and a gravy vegetables
Method
- Clean, and soak the dal for 15 minutes. Boil in the pressure cooker with 5 cups water, adding turmeric and salt.
- Drain the water and keep it aside.Heat oil in a pan and add all the spices.
- Allow to splutter, add onions. Stir fry till light brown.
- Add dal, lemon juice, masalas. Stir gently.
- Take care not to mash up dal too much.
- Garnish with coriander.
SAMBHAR RECIPE
Ingredients
Tuvar dal
1 cup
Tamarind soaked for 5 minutes
4-5 strips
Jaggery or sugar
1 tbsp
Sambar masala
2 tbsp
Turmeric powder
1/4 tbsp
Dhania powder
1 tbsp
Red chili powder
1 tbsp
Cumin and mustard seeds
1/2 tbsp
Whole red chillies
3
Curry leaves
1 stalk
Onions
4
Boiled mixed vegetables
1/2 cup
Tomato large
1
Chopped corainder leaves
1 tbsp
Garlic flakes
2-3
Salt according to taste
Oil
2 tbsp
Serve steaming hot with idlis, coconut chutney and dosas
Method
- Add tamarind, 1/2 tomato & 1 onion chopped, to the dal.
- Pressure cook till dal is done very soft. (Approx. 4 whistles)
- Remove dal and beat with a whisk or churner till smooth.
- Grind to a paste, 1 onion, 1/4 tomato, jaggery, garlic, all dry masalas.
- Chop the remaining onion and tomato to medium or fine pieces.
- Heat oil, add seeds , curry leaves and allow to splutter.
- Add onion, mixed veggies, tomato and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add paste, and cook for further 2 minutes.
- Add dal and bring to a boil on high. Add enough water to get sambar consistency.
- Check and adjust masalas as required.
- Simmer for 12-15 minutes on low, till the aroma exudes.
- Add chopped coriander before serving.
BENGALI CHOLAR DAL RECIPE
Ingredients
Cholar or channa dal
1 cup
Turmeric paste
1 tbsp
Chili paste
1/4 tbsp
Corainder
1 tbsp
Cumin
2 tbsp
Garam masala
1 tbsp
Green chilies
4-8 slit
Salt to taste
Coconut finely grated
1/4
Ghee
1 tbsp
Sugar
2 tbsp
Bay leaves
3
Method
- Mix coriander & cumin seeds powder with red chili powder adding little water.
- Grind ginger into a paste. Add 5 cups of water into Bengal gram.
- Add above ground spices, ginger, salt, sugar, green chilies and turmeric powder.
- Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer till cooked but not dissolved.
- Slice from fresh coconut and cut into 1/4 inch cubes. Fry in butter to light brown.
- Add fried coconut pieces to the boiled lentil.Heat ghee or butter.
- Add cumin seeds, bay leaf and whole red chili and fry till splutters and becomes light brown.
- Pour in the boiled dal and cook in reduced heat for 6/7 minutes or till dal thickens to medium consistency.
BENGALI MUNG DAL RECIPE
Ingredients
Moong dal
1 cup
Cauliflower cut into small florets
1 cup
Spinach finely chopped
1 bunch
Potato cut into small pieces
1 big
Sugar
1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Bay leaves
1 or 2
Ginger paste
1 tbsp
Oil
1/2 cup
Cumin seeds
1/2 tbsp
Ghee
1 tbsp
Garam masala
1 tbsp
Green chilies
few
Method
- In a pan roast the Moong dal , constantly stirring it from time to time till dal turn a lovely golden.
- This has to be done quite carefully as the dal tends to get burnt very quickly after a certain temperature.
- Wash the dal and boil it till its soft but not overcooked In a deep pan add enough oil to separately deep fry the potatoes and cauliflower Fry till well cooked but not too soft.
- Remove and set aside. Please remove all the debris if any from the oil and add in Bay leaves with Cumin seed Toss in chili pieces and ginger paste.
- Fry for a minute or so. Add the fried vegetables, spinach and the dal.
- Add sugar and salt. Bring the dal to a boil.
- Add in Garam masala and ghee. This is well enjoyed with fried Egg Plant and hot white rice.
MUSUR DAL BENGALI RECIPE
Ingredients
Red lentils
1 1/2 c
Water
3 1/2 c
Green hot chilies minced
6
Turmeric
1/4 tbsp
Salt
1 1/2 tbsp
Ghee, butter or vegetable oil
4 tbsp
Minced onions
1 cup
Chopped tomatoes
1 cup
Grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp
Ghee or vegetable oil
2 tbsp
Panch poran mix
1 tbsp
Dried small red chilies
4
Cloves, garlic
1-3
Method
- There are three basic steps to this recipe: cooking the lentils in water, making a tomato/onion/ginger mush, and making a spiced oil.
- Rinse lentils well, add water, serrano chilies, turmeric and salt. Bring carefully to boil and cook over low to medium heat, partially covered, for 25 minutes. Cover and cook another 10 minutes. Adjust salt.
- . While lentils are cooking, cook onions in a frying pan in the oil until they are golden brown (approximately 10 minutes), stirring constantly. Add tomatoes and ginger and continue cooking until the tomatoes decompose into a delicious and fragrant mush (approximately 8 minutes.) Stir constantly so that tomato mixture doesn't stick. Turn heat to low if necessary.
- Scrape out this mush into the lentils and stir it in. Let lentils sit while you make the spiced oil.
- Do a quick rinse of the frying pan, without soap, and dry thoroughly. Add the remaining 2T oil and heat over medium high heat. When oil is hot add panch phanon mix and heat until the seeds begin to pop, about 15 seconds. Add red chilies and fry for another 15 seconds, until they turn a little darker. Turn off heat and add the crushed garlic and let sizzle for about 30 seconds. Stir this mixture into the lentil/tomato mixture and serve with rice. Adjust salt.
BHAJA MUGER DAL RECIPE
Ingredients
Yellow split moong beans
50 gms
Turmeric
1/2 tbsp
Greeen chilies seeded & minced
2 nos
Salt to taste
Sugar
1 tbsp
Cumin powder
Corainder powder
Vegetable oil
Bay leaf
2 nos
Ginger paste
1 tbsp
Ghee
2 tbsp
Method
- Roast the moong dal for 8 to 10 minutes. The dal will acquire a lighter color & emit a nutty aroma.
- Be careful that they do not turn a dark brown. Transfer to a bowl & wash if desired.
- Bring water to a boil & stir in the dal along with the turmeric & whole chilies.
- Simmer, covered, until the dal is tender, 35 to 45 minutes. While cooking
NARKEL CHOLAR DAL
Ingredients
Yellow split grams
200 gms
Bay leaf
2*3 nos
Cloves
2 nos
Green cardamom
2 nos
Cinnamon
1"
Cumin seeds
1/2 tbsp
Ghee
2 tbsp
Green chili
2
Turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp
Chopped & fried coconut
2 tbsp
Sugar
1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Method
- Boil chana dal with turmeric powder & garam masala till dal is soft.
- Heat ghee in a pan, add bay leaf, cumin seeds & green chilies.
- Add boiled dal & water.
- Add salt, sugar, and ghee boil for 2 minutes.
- Garnish with coconut.
MAHARASHTRIAN AAMATI SWEET AND SOUR PLAIN DAL
Ingredients
Toor dal 1/2 cup
1/2 cup
Medium sized onions
1
Tomato
1
Green chilies
3
Maharastrian goda masala or rammasala
2 tbsp
Turmeric powsder
1 tbsp
Asafoetida
1/4 tbsp
Mustard seeds
1 tbsp
Jaggery small piece
1
Corainder leaves
Salt to taste
Method
- Pressure cook dal till soft. Remove from the cooker and mash it. Chop onions into vertical thin pieces.
- Chop tomato and chilies. Or give vertical slits to the chilies instead of chopping them.
- Heat 2 teaspoon oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. As they pop up, add asafoetida, turmeric powder and onion pieces and chilies.
- Fry for sometime or till the onion turns light brown.
- Add chopped tomato pieces and fry again till tomato pieces turn soft. Add mashed dal and 1 cup water. Stir.
- Cook on high heat and when bubbles rise up on the top, turn the heat to medium.
- Add salt, jaggery and goda masala. Mix well and simmer.
- Remove Aamati from the heat and decorate with coriander leaves.
- Serve with plain rice, pulao, or chapatis.
VANGI DAL
Ingredients
Toor dal
1 cup
Egg plant
Green chilies
4
Curry leaves
8
Tamarind paste
2 nos
Dry/ dsiccated shredded coconut
2 tbsp
Cumin seeds
1 tbsp
Corainder seeds
2 tbsp
Chopped corrainder leaves
Turmeric powder
1 tbsp
Asafoetida
1/2 tbsp
Salt and jaggary
Oil
1 tbsp
Method
- Wash dal twice. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, asafoetida, 1/2 tsp oil and water to the dal.
- Pressure cook it until soft and mushy. Mash dal and keep aside.Chop the eggplant into small cubes and rub some salt to the pieces.
- Soak them in water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Heat a pan.
- Add coriander seeds, coconut and toast them over medium heat until light brown. Lastly add cumin seeds and just toss once (since cumin seeds turn brown quicker than coconut, they should be added later).
- Remove and grind into a fine paste. Chop chilies and coriander leaves. Again, heat oil in a pan.
- Once the oil is hot, let the mustard seeds sizzle. Add asafoetida, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and curry leaves and chopped chilies.
- Add eggplant pieces and fry until half done. Add dal and water for desired thickness.
- Let it boil over hight heat. Once bubbles float on top, turn the heat to medium.
- Add ground coconut masala, tamarind paste or kokum and stir well. Add salt and jaggary or sugar.
- Simmer for another 10 minutes.Top with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or chapati.