Introduction: Delicious Homemade Dal
Dal, daal, dahl.. however you spell it, it is delicious! A staple comfort food all over India, there are probably as many varieties as there are dialects and that's a lot! Recipes will vary from region to region and even from family to family.
My recipe is my own hybrid, which I stumbled upon while trying to duplicate the dal makhani I would get at the dhabas (roadside truck stops) in Punjab, India. It was actually made with black moong or mung beans, but I have found I really like the green so that's what I use.
I just experimented with various spice variations until I hit on a combination that brings back the memories of fighting off flies and relishing the occasional cool breeze as I sat in the shade and gobbled my dal with warm fresh chapatis and semi-cool water from stainless steel cups of questionable cleanliness.
Each time I make dal it may be slightly different, as I rarely measure anything. I made note of the ingredients as I went along this time, so I could give an accurate recipe and instructable. You can be somewhat flexible and adjust the ingredients to suit your preference and palate. For example, I use a LOT of lime and cilantro at the end, because I just love a really tangy dal. My sister loads her bowl up with yoghurt where I just like a dollop, and my father likes a couple whole chilies in his bowl. You can also mess with the spices to increase or reduce the heat. I would say on a scale of 1-5 based on the Thai restaurant scales, this recipe would be a 3. Use less cayenne and fresh green chilies if you want it milder, or just add lots of yoghurt, like my sister does.
Step 1: FULL RECIPE
Super Tangy Moong Dal
This recipe calls for a large pressure cooker, which if you don't have one, you should start looking at thrift stores and garage sales because they are out there in abundance and they are a wonderous and time-saving kitchen tool. If you want to make dal now and don't have a pressure cooker, skip to the end to see the variation for using a standard pot.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup dried green moong beans (becomes about 2 cups when soaked overnight)
2 or 3 cups water (see below)
1/3 cup dried chenna (AKA chickpeas/garbanzo beans) or one 14 oz can including liquid
2-3 medium yellow onions chopped or thinly sliced
2-3 tomatoes or one can diced tomatoes (no spice added)
1 bunch fresh cilantro
3 limes, juiced
4 tbs or more sweet cream butter (I use between a half and one normal stick)
thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
Plenty of fresh garlic (I use about 12 cloves) --finely chopped
6 fresh green chilies
(I used 4 minced soranos without the cores and seeds and three whole jalapeÃÂños)
1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt
1 level tsp freshly ground black pepper (if you use pre-ground, increase to a heaping tsp)
1 heaping tbs ground turmeric
2 heaping tbs garam masala mixture
1/8 tsp asofoetida powder (optional)
1/8 tsp fenugreek powder (optional)
PREPARATION:
If it's not too inconvenient, soak your beans overnight. This is not required, but I find the results are well worth it. If you can't soak your beans, you will need to increase the amount of water by about the same volume as the beans, since soaking them absorbs enough water to double their mass.
Measure out all your dry spices onto a plate (this is always visually fun)
Chop one onion, cut the other into fine crescent slices.
Grate the ginger and chop the garlic.
Remove the seeds and core from your green chilies and chop them finely.
On medium heat put the oil in the bottom of your pressure cooker add the onions. Stir until translucent. Add fresh garlic, ginger, and green chilies and mix well. Simmer for about five minutes, stirring regularly.
Add dry spices and mix until all spices are incorporated into a dense goop. Keep stirring and when it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a little water and keep stirring, reducing it until it begins to stick again. Add the garbanzos and liquid and stir for a minute.
Now add your beans and tomatoes and enough water to make a chunky soup texture (I do about equal parts water to beans), mix well and cover. Seal your pressure cooker and wait for it to reach full pressure. Once rocker is going strong, reduce heat to a steady hiss and cook for approximately 20 minutes. Turn off burner and let pressure drop naturally.
Now is a good time to rough-chop your cilantro--yes, the whole bunch!
Once pressure plug has dropped on its own, run cold water over the pot for about fifteen seconds too assure there is no pressure left before opening.
Add butter and stir until melted.
Now add cilantro and lime juice. You can start with the juice of one lime and taste, then add more to taste. DO NOT use bottled lime juice, it really spoils the flavor! I like it super tangy so I use three or four limes. Mix well, taste and add salt if needed.
Serve with plain yoghurt, chapatis, rice or tortillas.
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VARIATION FOR STANDARD (non-pressure) POT:
If you don't have a pressure cooker you can alter this recipe slightly and it will come out just as delicious.
What you need to do is pre-cook the beans before you begin the process. Once you have boiled, simmered and drained the beans, set them aside and start at the beginning. Here are the directions for properly pre-cooking the moong beans. There is a slight difference to the actual cooking process, also noted below.
First you MUST soak the beans for at least five hours. All day or all night is fine if you can plan ahead. I find it easiest to leave them to soak before I leave in the morning. Always be sure to soak in a bowl much larger than the volume of beans you will be using. I soak 1-2 cups in large glass measuring cup that holds at least four cups. I fill it to the top with water.
When the beans are nice and plump from soaking, drain and place in a LARGE heavy-based pot with eight cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour, or until the dal feels soft and squishes easily between the fingers.
Drain and set it aside, then follow the recipe from beginning to end but using the same heavy-bottomed pot and where it says to cover and bring to pressure, simply bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes with a cover stirring once every five minutes or so just to keep the bottom from burning.
Step 2: Gather the Goods
SOFTWARE:
1 cup dried green moong or mung beans (becomes about 2 cups when soaked overnight)
2 or 3 cups water (see below)
1 can including liquid (12-16oz can) garbanzos/chickpeas (or 1/3 cup dried chenna)
2-3 medium yellow onions chopped or thinly sliced
1 can diced tomatoes, no spice added (12-16oz can)
1 bunch fresh cilantro
3 limes, juiced
4 tbs or more sweet cream butter (I use between a half and one normal stick)
1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
Plenty of fresh garlic (I use about 12 cloves) --finely chopped
6 fresh green chilies
(I used 4 minced soranos without the cores and seeds and three whole jalapenos)
1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt
1 level tsp freshly ground black pepper (if you use preground, increase to a heaping tsp)
1 heaping tbs ground turmeric
2 heaping tbs garam masala mixture
1/8 tsp asofoetida powder (optional)
1/8 tsp fenugreek powder (optional)
HARDWARE:
Large pressure cooker (or large heavy bottomed pot if you have pre-cooked your beans as described in the FULL RECIPE step)
Cutting board
Good knife
Measuring cups/spoons
Microplane or other fine grater
OPTIONAL:
Food Processor (if available and you are lazy or sensitive to onion gas)
Garbage Bowl
If it's not too inconvenient, soak your beans all day or overnight. This is not required (if you use a pressure cooker), but I find the results are well worth it.
Measure out all your dry spices onto a plate (this is always visually fun)
Chop the onion.
Grate the ginger and chop the garlic.
Remove the seeds and core from your green chilies and chop them finely.
Use your food processor for whichever steps you see fit. This time I used mine for the onions, garlic and green chilies, but usually I just use my trusty knife for everything.
Step 3: Cook the Flavor Base
On medium-high heat put the oil in the bottom of your pressure cooker add the onions. Stir until translucent. Add fresh garlic, ginger, and green chilies and mix well. Simmer for about five minutes, stirring regularly.
Add dry spices and mix until all spices are incorporated into a dense goop. Keep stirring and when it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a little water and keep stirring, reducing it until it begins to stick again. Add another cup of water and stir, scraping the bottom well.
Step 4: Add Remaining Ingredients and Cook Under Pressure
Add the garbanzos and liquid and stir for a minute.
Now add your beans and tomatoes and enough water to make a chunky soup texture (I added about one more cup here, so maybe 2.5 cups all together including the water added in the previous step), mix well and toss in a few whole chilies if you prefer, then cover.
Seal your pressure cooker and wait for it to reach full pressure. Once rocker is going strong, reduce heat to a steady hiss and cook for approximately 20 minutes.
Step 5: Prepare Your Garnish Ingredients and Rice or Breads
Now is a good time to rough-chop your cilantro, juice your limes and measure your butter.
After 20 minutes at full pressure, turn off burner and let pressure drop naturally for another 15 or 20 minutes. This is important, do not skip this step or your dal will be undercooked and not as silky smooth or delicious. Instead of WAITING hungrily to open the pressure cooker, I suggest you use this time to heat your flat breads or put on a pot of rice to cook so everything will be ready at the same time.
Step 6: Open, Garnish and Serve!
Just to be safe, before opening the pressure cooker move it to the sink and run cold water over the pot for about fifteen seconds too assure there is no pressure left inside before opening. If you have a newer cooker with a failsafe pressure release, you can use that method instead. I like the cold water method because it it faster, quieter and less messy since there is no water being forced out this way.
Add butter and stir until melted. Add cilantro and lime juice.
You can start with the juice of one lime and taste, then add more to taste.
I like it super tangy so I use three or four limes. Mix well, taste and add salt if needed.
DO NOT use bottled lime juice, it really spoils the flavor!
Serve with plain yoghurt and chapatis, rice or tortillas.
Or just a spoon.
