Gujarati Dal
Every Gujarati household I know has a generational war in one thing: kadhi or dal. My mom is a kadhi girl herself but has been beautifully cursed to make the best dal on Earth. All of the women in my family are kadhi people and all the men are dal people but this dal definitely has converted a few folks over the years. It is wonderfully spicy, sweet and tangy all at the same time! This recipe is different from a lot of other Gujarati families from all over the world but I would definitely encourage anyone to give it a try and see if its just as magical of an experience for you! My dad has been wanting for me to learn how to make this since I first started cooking more than 10 years ago and I never bothered to really learn so this was a great way for me to finally have a cheat sheet on how to make this dal! Here’s to you dad!
Ingredients:
- For the dal:
- 1 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas)
- 3 tomatoes, quartered
- 3/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/3 c. raw peanuts
- 2 heaping tbsp. ginger paste/minced ginger
- 1 lime
- 3 dried chilies
- 1 tbsp. ghee
- 1 tbsp. turmeric (avej/hardar/haldi)
- 2 tbsp. lal mirch
- 2 heaping tbsp. coriander powder (dhaniya powder)
- 3 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. mustard seeds (rai)
- 1 tsp. whole cumin (jeera)
- cilantro for garnish
Method:
- Wash 1 cup of toor dal until the water runs clear, and add to a pressure cooker with 3 cups water and 1 tsp. salt. Add tomatoes and seal the lid. Pressure cook for roughly 10 minutes, until the dal is cooked through completely.
- Blend the dal with 1 cup of water. Keep aside.
- In a separate large pot/cooker, heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the mustard seeds and cumin and let it splutter for 15-20 seconds.
- Then shut off the stove. Add in chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, ginger paste mix until combined. It should look like a very stiff paste. Add 4 cups of water. Turn the heat back on medium-high.
- Add in brown sugar, juice of 1 lime, raw peanuts. Bring to a boil. Add in blended dal mixture from Step 2. Add in additional water to bring to your desired consistency. I added about 2.5 cups extra. Add salt to taste. Once you bring it to a boil add 1 tbsp. of ghee on top and stir continuously. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve!
Gujarati Dal
Every Gujarati household I know has a generational war in one thing: kadhi or dal. My mom is a kadhi girl herself but has been beautifully cursed to make the best dal on Earth. All of the women in my family are kadhi people and all the men are dal people but this dal definitely has converted a few folks over the years. It is wonderfully spicy, sweet and tangy all at the same time! This recipe is different from a lot of other Gujarati families from all over the world but I would definitely encourage anyone to give it a try and see if its just as magical of an experience for you! My dad has been wanting for me to learn how to make this since I first started cooking more than 10 years ago and I never bothered to really learn so this was a great way for me to finally have a cheat sheet on how to make this dal! Here’s to you dad!
Ingredients
- For the dal:
- 1 cup toor dal split pigeon peas
- 3 to matoes quartered
- 3/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/3 c. raw peanuts
- 2 heaping tbsp. ginger paste/minced ginger
- 1 lime
- 3 dried chilies
- 1 tbsp. ghee
- 1 tbsp. turmeric avej/hardar/haldi
- 2 tbsp. lal mirch
- 2 heaping tbsp. coriander powder dhaniya powder
- 3 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. mustard seeds rai
- 1 tsp. whole cumin jeera
- cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Wash 1 cup of toor dal until the water runs clear, and add to a pressure cooker with 3 cups water and 1 tsp. salt. Add tomatoes and seal the lid. Pressure cook for roughly 10 minutes, until the dal is cooked through completely.
- Blend the dal with 1 cup of water. Keep aside.
- In a separate large pot/cooker, heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the mustard seeds and cumin and let it splutter for 15-20 seconds.
- Then shut off the stove.Add it chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, ginger paste mix until a combined. It should look like a very stiff paste. Add 4 cups of water. Turn the heat back on medium-high.
- Add in brown sugar, juice of 1 lime, raw peanuts. Bring to a boil. Add in blended dal mixture from Step 2. Add in additional water to bring to your desired consistency. I added about 2.5 cups extra. Add salt to taste. Once you bring it to a boil add 1 tbsp. of ghee on top and stir continuously. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve!
