Oh My Gujarati Daal

Mistakes were made

What I really wanted to create was Sanjana’s Gujarati-style Urad Daal below.  That recipe is the real deal if you want an authentic taste.  But when I reached for vegetables and spices, I found I didn’t have the exact ingredients.  I had mustard powder instead of mustard seeds, curry powder instead of curry leaves, Indian red chili powder instead of fresh green chilies, ginger garlic paste instead of fresh ginger and garlic.

Here is what I created, quite by accident.  It is tangy, with a mouth-on-fire heat (at least for Westerners) so keep the yogurt or raita handy.

Oh My Gujarati Daal

  • 1 Cup whole urad daal (whole black lentils with white insides), soaked for 3 hours in 3 cups of water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or oil
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (can probably substitute dry cumin powder)
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
  • 1 teaspoon Indian red chili powder or 1 Tablespoon Western-style chili powder such as Gebhart’s or McCormick’s
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 small 6 oz can tomato paste
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 Tablespoons or 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
  • 3 Tablespoons ginger garlic paste

Drain the urad daal after soaking for 3 hours.  Rinse and place in a large non-stick skillet with a tight fitting lid.  Add 1 teaspoon salt and 3 more cups of water.  Bring the urad daal to a boil over high heat and continue boiling for 15 minutes on high.  Place the cover on the daal and reduce the heat to low (3 on a scale of 0-10) and simmer for 45 minutes.  Remove from heat but leave covered.  Your daal should not be floating in a lot of water, but you should definitely see liquid if you stir the daal around.

In a small non-stick skillet, melt the ghee on high heat then stir in the rest of the dry spices, one at a time, stirring for 30 seconds to 1 minute after each addition.  The spices you are adding are mustard powder, cumin seeds or powder, curry, garam masala, turmeric, Indian chili powder and the 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt. You now have a black paste that looks like a mess, but it is just the color of the fried spices.

Stir in the tomato paste and blend well.  Cook for 5 minutes on medium high heat (7 on a scale of 0-10).  Remove spice paste from heat.

Place the large skillet of daal back on high heat and stir in the tomato spice paste.  Cook on high heat for 3 minutes while blending in the paste with the daal.  Add in 1 cup of milk and stir well to combine.  The daal should begin to bubble.  Add the lemon juice and cook for 3 more minutes.  Finally, stir in the chopped cilantro and serve hot with white rice and a lot of cold milk and/or plain yogurt , naan, and a chilled green salad or chilled fruit.  Don’t worry if your tongue grows numb from the spice, the feeling will return overnight.

Carlyn Foshee Chatfield

 

Gujarati-style Urad Daal

I found this recipe for Gujarati-style Urad Daal and the photos look delicious.  It does not include the red kidney beans, so it is a little different from Ratna Sarkar’s Ma Ki Daal.

Ingredients for your shopping list:

  • 1-1/4 cups whole urad daal, soaked in warm water for 2-4 hours
  • 3 cups hot water (or more to cook the lentils if you don’t have a pressure cooker)
  • 1-1/2 Tablespoons garlic, minced
  • 4-5 hot green chillies, minced (or to taste)
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 1/2 cup tomatoes, pureed
  • 2 Tablespoons ghee (clarified butter), or oil for a vegan option
  • 1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried, powdered sour mango (amchur) or 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • Extra 2-3 cups hot water
  • 1/2 cup fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (optional) – even stored in nested airtight containers, this stinks so badly, I had to move it outside and finally got rid of it all together.  Asafoetida tastes much better than it smells when cooked, and it replaces the flavors of fresh onion and garlic which are prohibited for members of Jain and Brahmin castes.

Summary:

Boil daal in plenty of water until just soft. Heat the ghee or oil in a large non-stick skillet, fry mustard seeds until they pop, then add cumin seeds, curry leaves (and asafoetida if using). Next add tomatoes, garlic, ginger and chilies and cook on medium heat 5 minutes. Add turmeric, cook one more minute then add back in drained, cooked urad daaland 2-3 cups of hot water. Stir constantly until creamy, then add salt and sour (amchur powder or lemon juice) seasonings.  Stir in most of the cilantro (coriander leaves) and sprinkle the rest on top, serve warm.