Gujarati Dal
Gujarati DalSpicy, tangy and mildly sweet thin pigeon pea lentils soup tempered with seeds and whole spices, garnished with fresh cilantro and curry leaves!
A Gujarati Thali staple is this Gujarati Dal. This comfort food is full of nutrients and so satisfying. There is no home in Gujarat that does not make it on regular basis. I grew up eating this dal with phulka roti, rice and ghee! It is a perfect blend of spices, tanginess and mild sweetness.
I make this dal on regular basis and my kids love it! Hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we do!
Happy and Healthy Eating!
Gujarati Dal
Spicy, tangy and mildly sweet thin pigeon pea lentils soup tempered with seeds and whole spices!
Servings 5
Ingredients
Boil Dal
- ¾ cup Uncooked Pigeon Pea Lentils
- 2-3 Kokum optional
- ½ cup Peanuts
- ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
- ½ tsp Fenugreek Seeds
Spice up Boiled Dal
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Cumin Coriander Powder dhana jiru
- ½ tsp Garam Malsala optional
- 3 tbsp Jaggery
- 1 tsp Chopped Spicy Green Chilis
- 2 tsp Grated Ginger
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
Tempering
- 2-3 tbsp Peanut Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 tsp While Sesame Seeds
- 2 Whole Dry Red Chili
- 3 Cloves
- 3 Peppercorns
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 6-7 Curry Leaves
- ¼ tsp Asafetida
Garnishing
- ¼ cup Chopped Cilantro
- 6-8 Curry Leaves
- 1 Big Fresh Lime
Instructions
Boil Dal
- Throughly wash the pigeon pea lentils and sock it for 30-60 minutes.
- Put socked lentils and other boiling ingredients listed above (peanut in a bowl) in a pressure cooker along with 2 cups of water. Do 5-6 whistles and let the pressure release naturally completely.
- Once pressure is released, open the pressure cooker and take the boiled peanuts out and keep it on side. Discard boiled kokum if added.
Spice up the dal
- Add all the spices listed above under 'spice up the dal', in the boiled dal and blend it with handy blender with least amount of water. Adding lots of water before well blending might cause the dal to be crumbly and not smooth.
- Once all the spices are well blended in the boiled dal, add 2 cups of water to the dal and blend it again with handy blender. Check for the right thin consistency and add additional 1-2 cups of water if required and blend it again with handy blender. The consistency should not be water like thin, and it should not be tomato soup like thick either. So find the right thinness by adding enough water.
- Start boiling the dal on medium heat. Once it comes to boil, let it boil/simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add little water at a time if it is too thick. Prepare tempering while it is simmering.
Tempering
- Heat oil in a small deep pan or in a vaghariyu (special pan for tempering).
- Once hot, add everything but asafetida and curry leaves listed under Tempering ingredients.
- Once all seeds are done popping, add asafetida and curry leaves. Imminently add the tempering to boiling dal. Mix well.
- Add all the garnishing, boiled peanuts and juice of one big fresh lime. Mix well and taste, add additional spices/salt/jaggery/lime juice if needed!
- Serve it hot with steamed rice, phulka rotis and subzi/shak!