Serve with rice for a truly Gujarati dal-bhaat experience. Delicious!My recipe for Gujarati Dal is so easy and flavoursome. It’s a classic Indian comfort food recipe I make at least once every fortnight.

How to serve this Dal

While Gujarati Dal at weddings is usually a more filling affair, at home, it can be much more casual. I like to eat it as it is, with boiled rice and a dollop of plain set yoghurt. There’s something so satisfying about the hot and sour dal against the cold yoghurt. A touch of jaggery in the dal offsets the flavours so beautifully.

If you’d like to make a meal of it, try serving your dal with the following to create a Gujarati thali at home:

Gujarati Ravaiya (Stuffed Aubergine Curry)

Ask any Gujarati and they’ll rave about their mum or gran’s Ravaiya (stuffed aubergine curry). It’s in our nature. There is no love greater than the love you feel when you eat these hand-stuffed baby aubergines.

Check out this recipe

Foolproof Indian Boiled Rice

Learn how to achieve the longest, most separate grains of rice with this easy recipe for boiled Basmati rice. Serve alongside your favourite curries and daals.

Check out this recipe

Puffy Masala Poori

Learn how to make puffy, crispy Masala Poori at home. This easy recipe is foolproof. Just follow the step-by-step video and enjoy your fresh Indian Poori with any curry. I love mine with Gujarati-style Bateta nu Shaak.

Check out this recipe

Key ingredients in Gujarati Dal

Oily toor dal (also called split pigeon peas, arhar or tuver), water, ginger, chilli, tomatoes, turmeric, kokum, salt, jaggery, coriander, ghee, cinnamon, curry leaves, star anise, cloves, asafoetida, dried chilli, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, peanuts, cashews.My favourite part are the simmered peanuts and cashews which become extremely tender and melt in your mouth.

What style of Dal should I choose?

For this type of dal, it’s best to use the oily style of split pigeon peas (toor/tuver/arhar). They are dried and coated in a slick of oil to preserve them for months, even years.This makes toor the ultimate pantry ingredient to have on standby when the contents of your fridge is looking sparse.

Tip: Always wash your dal!

Always wash dal to rinse away oil. As a child my mother would keep me occupied by placing a bowl of toor dal in warm water in front of me so I could swish and swoosh the oil away. It was the ultimate sensory activity for a bored little monkey like me, and something I still find utterly cathartic today.

How to make Gujarati Dal in a pressure cooker

To make light work of boiling dal, this recipe calls for a pressure cooker. I use a traditional pressure cooker with a whistle attachment. You can also use an Instant Pot or equivalent pressure pot.Place the dal in a pressure cooker along with 1L of water.

Close the pressure cooker (whistle on) and cook for 7 whistles. If you’re using an Instant Pot or similar pressure pot, cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Carefully release the steam. The dal should be really mushy, almost liquid.

How to make Gujarati Dal without a pressure cooker

Fear not! You can still have your dal. Simply boil the dal in a large pan, covered with a tight-fitting lid for 30-35 minutes or until mushy. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pot to reduce the amount of foam that builds up inside the pot. Do not leave boiling dal unattended as it can overflow.

Gujarati Dal without onion and garlic

Since this is a wedding-style of Gujarati Dal, this recipe does not include onion or garlic. For various religious reasons, many people refrain from eating these two ingredients. Therefore the dal served at celebrations is almost always free from onion and garlic.

Types of Gujarati Dal

Dal simply refers to ‘pulses’. There are dozens of varieties of Gujarati Dal and each home will have a unique method of preparation for these variants. Eat these with rice, rotli, paratha or Let’s explore some of the most popular ones.

Dal Dhokli

Not only is Dal Dhokli a one-pot wonder, it’s also packed with mouth-puckering hot, sweet and sour flavours, protein and comforting carbs. The spicing is gentle and aromatic with star anise, cinnamon, cloves and ajwain-flecked dhokli (a cross between a dumpling and pasta).

Gujarati Mug

Gujarati Mug is a simple dish of whole green mug (moong/mung beans). There are so many ways to prepare this protein-packed pulse. The Gujarati way uses just a handful of spices, ginger, chilli and sometimes tomatoes. I like to add lots of garlic! Perfect with a bowl of plain rice or black pepper paratha.

Mug ni Dal

This variety of dal is similar to the above, except it calls for split, skinless mug (moong/mung beans). The final result is creamier than the dish with whole mug and the appearance is more yellow in colour, since the green skins are removed.

Urad

Thick and creamy black lentils (of Dal Makhani fame) with simple spices. A traditional dish for Saturdays. Saturday represents the day of Lord Hanuman. Belief has it that he gathers his otherworldly strength from eating such lentils. Urad is packed with vitamins, protein and iron, so move over Popeye- Hanuman’s in town and he brings with him the strength of a thousand elephants and karahi’s full of Urad!

Trevti Dal

A combination of three types of lentils. Usually toor (arhar dal), chana dal and moong dal but the recipe can vary from cook to cook. I like to add split, skinless urad dal. Trevti Dal is creamy and thick, with a tempering of both whole spices and ground spices.

Gujarati Kadhi

I have mixed feelings about including Kadhi in this list, simply because it’s not technically a type of dal. However, most recipes call for besan (gram flour) which is a chickpea-based product, so I’ll let it slide!Yoghurt-laden Kadhi is almost always served in the same way as dal (with rice or as part of a thali). At most Gujarati weddings, the hosts will serve either Gujarati Toor Dal or Kadhi, not both.

Gujarati Wedding Dal recipe

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Gujarati Wedding Dal

Gujarati Wedding Dal, also called Gujarati Lagan Dal is an aromatic preparation of split pigeon peas, peanuts and whole spices. Serve with rice for a truly Gujarati dal-bhaat experience. Delicious!

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword daal, vegetarian, wedding

Servings 6

Author Sanjana

Equipment

• Pressure cooker

Ingredients

For the dal:

• 200 g oily toor dal also called split pigeon peas, arhar or tuver
• 1.5 L hot water
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2-3 green chillies finely chopped
• 200 g chopped tomatoes I use tinned
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 piece kokum or juice of two large lemons
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp jaggery or brown sugar
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander

To temper the dal:

• 1 tbsp ghee
• 2- inch cinnamon stick
• 5-6 curry leaves
• ¼ tsp asafoetida hing
• 1 star anise
• 2 cloves
• 1 dried red chilli
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 10 peanuts whole
• 10 cashew nuts

Instructions

To cook the dal:

• Wash the dal in plenty of water. Drain and repeat twice more.
• Place the dal in a pressure cooker along with 1L of water. Close the pressure cooker (whistle on) and cook for 7 whistles. If you’re using an Instant Pot or similar pressure pot, cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Carefully release the steam. The dal should be really mushy, almost liquid.
• Sieve the dal into a large bowl to ensure it’s of a flowing consistency. Set aside.

To temper the dal:

• Heat the ghee in a large, heavy-based pan. Add mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Next, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon, star anise, dried red chilli, cloves, kokum, curry leaves, asafoetida, peanuts and cashews. Sauté over a low heat for 1-2 minutes, just until the cashews begin to brown slightly.
• Add the ginger and fresh chillies. Cook this for a further 30 seconds and then tip in the tomatoes. Add ground turmeric and jaggery. Stir well and allow the masala to come to a gently simmer. Stir all the time to help the jaggery melt in.
• Carefully pour in the dal mixture. Stir well. Add a further 500ml water and season with salt. Bring to the boil. Boil gently for 20 minutes. Stir frequently to ensure the dal doesn’t settle at the base of the pan. If you feel the dal is too thick, you can always thin it out with more water. The boiling extracts more flavours from the spices, resulting in a tastier dal.
• Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve hot with rice. For wedding vibes, I love this with a side of stuffed aubergine curry, farfar and poori.

Notes

What if I don’t have a pressure cooker?

Boil the dal in a large pan, covered with a tight-fitting lid for 30-35 minutes or until mushy. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pot to reduce the amount of foam that builds up inside the pot. Do not leave boiling dal unattended as it can overflow.

Other notes

• Dal will thicken on cooling. If making ahead, you may need to add additional water before serving.
• As dal boils, it will develop a skin on top. This is normal. Stir often to minimise.

How to freeze Gujarati Wedding Dal

This dal freezes particularly well. Place cold dal in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature and reheat thoroughly before serving. You may need to loosen the dal with additional water to achieve a flowing consistency once more.

Love Sanjana

The post Gujarati Wedding Dal appeared first on Sanjana.Feasts.

Paired with rotli, stuffed vegetable curry and rice, it’s always been our staple Sunday lunch.

What is Gujarati Daal?

Gujarati daal is made with oily tuver daal (arhar), also known split pigeon peas. They are dried and coated in a slick of oil to preserve them for months, even years.

This makes tuver the ultimate pantry ingredient to have on standby when the contents of your fridge is looking sparse.

Tip: Always wash your daal!

Always wash daal to rinse away oil. As a child my mother would keep me occupied by placing a bowl of tuver daal in warm water in front of me so I could swish and swoosh the oil away. It was the ultimate sensory activity for a bored little monkey like me, and something I still find utterly cathartic today.

Unlike many other regional Indian daal recipes, you pass the mixture through a sieve. Next, add the golden liquid to tempered spices, nuts and tomatoes.

Important!

Simmer it low and slow. Be heavy-handed with the seasoning: lemon juice, jaggery and salt are your friends because they are what gives Gujarati daal life. Serve as part of a larger meal or simply in a bowl with boiled rice.

My favourite part are the simmered peanuts and cashews which become extremely tender and melt in your mouth.

How to make One-Pot Daal Dhokli

Enter Daal Dhokli. A hand-rolled, wheat flour and chickpea flour pasta that’s dropped into a simmering pot of daal.

It’s more of a stew than a soup and considered a comfort food by many. I find adding a little chickpea flour to the Dhokli dough gives the cooked noodles a welcome firmness so they hold their shape in the daal.

If you like your pasta al dente, give it a go. This is a dish that’s unique to western India and a true food hero.

My mother always cut out pretty diamond-shapes. Although, every family, from Maharashtra through to Gujarat and Rajasthan, have their own unique way of making it.

Flavour star: Ajwain

Daal Dhokli is a true one-pot wonder. It’s packed with mouth-puckering hot, sweet and sour flavours, good protein and comforting carbs. The spicing is gentle and aromatic with star anise, cinnamon, cloves and ajwain-flecked pasta.

The yellow colour of the Dhokli predominantly comes from turmeric but the flavour is unequivocally down to the addition ajwain seeds. Having said this, if I have fresh ajwain leaves to hand, I add them to the dough for unbeatable peppery freshness.

Daal Dhokli is often made with leftover daal. Simply add water, more lemon, salt and jaggery, bring to a rolling boil and drop in the pieces of Dhokli. Because who said leftovers can’t be special?

More Ideas for One-Pot Daal Dhokli

• Add 250g fresh or frozen peas towards the end for a version called Matar Dhokli.
• Serve with steamed rice for a double-carb comfort feast or add in a few handfuls of spinach leaves if you like plenty of greens.
• Finally, my favourite way to enjoy it is with a swirl of thick Greek yoghurt and fresh coriander chutney.

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One-Pot Daal Dhokli

Not only is this daal from Western India a one-pot wonder, it’s also packed with mouth-puckering hot, sweet and sour flavours, good protein and comforting carbs. The spicing is gentle and aromatic with star anise, cinnamon, cloves and ajwain-flecked pasta.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword chickpea, daal, gujarati, indian sweets, lentils, pasta, soup, stew, vegan

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Sanjana

Ingredients

For the daal:

• 200 g oily tuver daal also known as split pigeon peas
• 2 1/2 L hot water
• 1 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
• 2-3 green chillies finely chopped
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• Juice of two large lemons
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp jaggery or brown sugar
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander

To temper the daal:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 2- inch cinnamon stick
• 5-6 curry leaves
• ¼ tsp asafoetida hing
• 2 star anise
• ¼ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 8 peanuts whole
• 8 cashew nuts

For the chickpea pasta (dhokli)

• 90 g chickpea flour besan
• 125 g plain flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp ajwain
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 75 ml boiling water

Instructions

• Boil the daal in a large pot of water (around 1.5L) until very soft and tender, about 40 minutes. You can also use a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot for this if you have them. Note that it will take less time if you use the latter. Allow to cool slightly and then pass through a sieve into a large bowl to ensure a smooth, golden liquid. You can also use an immersion blender for this. Don't skip this step as a smooth consistency is what makes for a good Gujarati daal.
• Give the pan a rinse and quick dry. Heat the oil in the pan and add the mustard seeds. Wait for them to crackle and then add the cumin seeds, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, curry leaves, nuts and asafoetida in quick succession. Stir briefly.
• Quickly add the ginger, chillies, tomatoes, turmeric and ground cinnamon. Cook for 5 minutes and then pour in the liquid daal and 1L water. It might sizzle and splutter a little so work carefully. Season with lemon juice, salt and sugar. Simmer for 15 minutes whilst you get on with making the dough for the dhokli.

For the chickpea pasta (dhokli):

• In a bowl mix all of the ingredients for the dhokli and knead into a firm, smooth dough, about 8 minutes by hand. Cover the dough with a clean, damp tea towel and rest for 10 minutes.
• Divide the dough into four portions and roll out (using extra plain flour) into something resembling a thick chapatti, around 2mm thick. Cut the dough lengthways from the left, and then across from the right, into diamond shapes. TIP: I use a pizza cutter for quick and clean shapes. Set aside and repeat for the rest of the dough. You'll have a few scraps of dough at the edges of each round. You can add them in as they are.
• Bring the daal to a rapid rolling boil and one by one drop in all the diamond shaped dhoklis. Remember to keep the daal at a constant rolling boil so the dhokli don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Stir them gently to avoid sticking. You may need to add extra boiling water as it is likely to thicken while the dhokli is cooking. This is normal. When you have done taste it to make sure it's spicy, sweet and sour.
• Ladle into bowls and top with fresh coriander.

Notes

Pack leftovers away into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 48 hours. The Daal Dhokli will thicken once cool so when reheating, you’ll need to add some extra water to bring it back to a stew-like consistency. Reheat in a saucepan, stirring often to avoid sticking.

Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Love Sanjana

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Happy 2014! It’s a new year and time to start getting excited about the adventures ahead. This year I get to marry my best friend and biggest supporter in all my work and passions. I have never felt so excited and nervous in my whole life.

I thought it would only be right to begin the year with a recipe that’s close to my heart; one which combines my love for Gujarati and East-African food in a beautiful way. Traditional Gujarati Daal Vada are crunchy, spicy and perfect for dipping into yoghurt. My East-African version incorporates bananas to add a hint of sweetness against the intense chilli and lemon heat. The magical thing about adding ripe banana to the batter is that it reacts with the lemon and baking powder, creating a puffy, fluffy-in-the-middle fritters that still have an incredible golden crunch on the outside because of the ground mung daal, urad daal and rice.

For me, rice is an important addition to any Daal Vada recipe because it ensures the fritters are crispy on the outside – essential when you’re craving a crunchy deep-fried starter to begin an Indian meal. But my favourite way to enjoy crispy Daal Vada is with hot, sweet masala chai and great company.

Remember to wash your daal and rice thoroughly and soak overnight for easy grinding and beautifully-textured vada. The frying process is a little tricky – and utterly frightening for the first few vada, but go carefully and you’ll get the hang of it in no time (I say as my finger throbs with pain from the oil splash I got from frying these vada an hour ago). Totally worth it though.

Think crunchy, fluffy, deep-fried pancake bites with a touch of sweet banana, a zip of fresh lemon and a punch of chilli heat (hence the ‘Bullet’). Serve immediately after frying with lemon wedges and fresh coriander and yoghurt chutney.

Coriander and yoghurt chutney is my go-to dip for any Indian starter because of it’s amazing power to perk up any dish from samosas to tikkis and of course, these Daal Vada. All you need to do is open your blender, throw in a washed bunch of coriander, a few dollops of yoghurt, a peeled clove of garlic, green chilli and lots of lemon juice, salt and sugar. Blend until smooth for the ultimate dipping, dunking or drizzling experience.

Bullet Banana Daal Vada
(Serves 8)

Ingredients

75g mung daal
55g urad daal
35g basmati rice
1 ripe banana, peeled and broken into large pieces
2 hot green chillies, stems removed
2 hot red chillies, stems removed
3-inch piece ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
250ml warm water
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
140g gram flour (chickpea flour)

2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 tsp ground fennel seeds
Pinch turmeric
½ tsp asafoetida
2 tsp baking powder
Juice and zest 2 lemons
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Pick through your mung and urad daal to ensure there are no stones or other foreign objects. Place the daals and rice in a sieve and wash them until the water almost runs clear. Soak them in cold water overnight.

2. Once soaked, drain the daals and rice and wash again until the water runs almost clear. Place in a blender or food processor and grind with 250ml warm water until you get a smooth paste. Place the paste in a large bowl and rinse the blender as you’ll need it again.

3. In your blender or food processor, add the chillies, ginger, banana, salt, sugar, ground coriander seeds, ground cumin seeds, ground fennel seeds, turmeric, asafoetida, lemon zest, lemon juice and fresh coriander. Blend until you get a smooth, but not entirely uniform paste. Add this to the daal and rice paste.

4. Next, whisk in the gram flour and 1 tbsp oil, ensuring there are no lumps.

5. Heat the oil in a deep, non-stick pan or wok. You’ll know the oil is ready when a cube of bread browns all over in 50 seconds.

6. Quickly whisk the baking powder into the vada batter, ensuring it is mixed in thoroughly. It should resemble pancake batter.

7. To fry the vada, dip your fingers into a little water and shake off any excess. Now, make a ‘cup’ with the four fingers on your dominant hand and scoop enough batter into your fingers to come up to the first line on your middle finger, using your thumb as a stopper. Gently drop the batter into the oil, ensuring your hand is close to the surface of the oil but not touching it on so close, the batter splashes back when you drop it. Use your thumb to push the batter down into the oil. You will almost certainly get smaller blobs of batter in your oil but don’t worry about this – you can scoop them out and scoff them later. Do about 8 vadas at a time and don’t overcrowd the pan. Fry until puffed up and crispy all over. Remove the vada and drain in a colander lined with kitchen paper. Repeat the process until you run out of batter.

Serve hot with lemon wedges, cooling coriander and yoghurt chutney and a cold beer.

Here’s to a spicy, sweet and utterly heavenly New Year. 

Love Sanjana

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Comfort food doesn’t get any better than a bowl of piping hot, creamy, spicy lentils topped with crispy onions, fried green chillies and crunchy fried spinach.

Urad, or black gram lentils are a staple in Indian homes and are used for making a variety of dishes from simple daals to elaborate Masala Dosa. They’re packed with protein and have a heartier texture than mung beans. Because of their tougher texture, they need to be cooked thoroughly to extract as much of their creamy starchiness as possible. I find the easiest way to do this is to soak the urad daal overnight and cook them using a pressure cooker – something you’ll find in every Indian home, rather than it being just an alien contraption collecting dust in the back of your Nan’s cupboard. After that, I slow cook for 6-8 hours for the creamiest, most off the hook daal you’ve ever tasted.

I love dinners like these. A shot from the other day. Spinach, sweet potato and peas in coconut milk, daal makhani, samosas, Indian churros, lime and coriander sour cream chutney and a mega stack of soft chapattis.

Growing up, I was reared on Gujarati Urad Daal rather than the richer Punjabi version of black gram lentils more popular on restaurant menus around the globe. We were taught that eating urad daal every Saturday (the holy day of Hanuman, the ever-powerful monkey god), we’d become so strong we’d be able to lift mountains. To no surprise, my wrestling-obsessed brother would wolf it down it with plenty of hope and hot, buttery chapattis.

The key difference between Gujarati and Punjabi urad daal is that the Gujarati version has no garam masala, kidney beans or cream. This isn’t to say it’s not delicious but more practical to eat often. However, if I’m honest, the ingredients my native Gujarati version lacked are the things I love so much about the classic Punjabi recipe here. Once you’ve made this version at home, Daal Makhani you get down your local Indian restaurant or takeaway won’t suffice, trust me.

My favourite way to eat Daal Makhani is with Garlic and Coriander Naan, Salted Lassi and nothing more. My recipe may not make you strong enough to uproot mountains like Hanuman dada, but it sure as hell will make you crave a weekly fix every Saturday… or Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Daal Makhani
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

220g urad (black gram lentils), washed and soaked in cold water overnight
200g kidney beans, washed (I use tinned)
1 tbsp oil
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
5 tbsp ginger, grated (loads, don’t be shy)
2 large, thin green chillies, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds, ground
200g passata
900ml hot water
Pinch bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp brown sugar or jaggery
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp salt
100ml double cream
50g butter

Method

1. Heat the butter in a pressure cooker, add the cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, chillies, tomato puree and passata. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the hot water and bring to the boil. Stir in the soaked urad and baking powder (this helps them cook quickly and evenly).

2. Put the lid on the pressure cooker and cook on a medium heat for 35 minutes or until the lentils are soft.

3. Stir in the ground coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, cinnamon, sugar, salt and double cream and stir.

3. Blend very briefly with a stick blender, leaving the majority of the urad whole. This is just to make it thick and creamy. Add the kidney beans. Pour in to a slow cooker and cook on high for 6-8 hours, stirring often. At the very end, add the garam masala and a dollop of butter.

3. Serve with fried onions, fried spinach, fried green chillies and a splash of cream (optional).

Note: Urad daal has a tendency to thicken as it cools so you may need to loosen it up with some hot water before serving.

Love Sanjana

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