Look who’s got a delicious Indian Dal on the blog today! This simple Dahl is inspired by Dals from the Northern State of Kashmir in India. The pulses are cooked and the tempering is made with whole spices and ginger, roasted up well and added while sizzling to the dal.
If you are wondering why I haven’t been posting Indian recipes on the blog lately, well there is a reason. All of the Indian and Indian fusion recipes (probably 140 of them, all new) are going to be in my print cookbook! They are going to be new, easy, flavorful and fantastic! The awesome thing about Indian food is that it is generally very allergen friendly, packs a punch and is a great way to introduce beans and veggies. Please hang on with me while I try to post regularly on the blog with less Indian food for the next few months 🙂
The authentic version of the Dal uses whole Kashmiri red chilies and kashmiri garam masala. Both are not easily available in local grocery stores. I use more easily available ingredients that work as a great substitute. The spices that would usually be in the Kashmiri garam masala are directly added.
The soup usually uses chana dal, which is split chickpeas, and yellow mung dal which are available as petite yellow lentils. Chana dal can be substituted with split yellow peas.
More dals from the blog
Masoor Dal Tadka – Red lentil soup
Dal Makhani – Black Lentils in creamy curry
Simple Mung Dhal Tadka – Petite yellow lentil soup
Black Eyed Pea and Lentil Stew with Sriracha Tadka
Split pigeon peas with bay leaf and crisp cilantro.
And more Daal here.
Kashmiri Dal
Allergen Information: Free of Dairy, egg, corn, soy, gluten, grain, yeast
Serves 2 to 4
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chana dal (split chickpeas) or split yellow peas
1/2 cup mung dal (petite yellow lentils) or use split peas
3.5 cups water
3/4 tsp salt
for the tempering:
1 tsp organic canola or safflower oil
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1 bay leaf
1 inch ginger, chopped
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/8 tsp clove powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
1/2 to 1 tsp paprika
1 tsp lemon juice
cilantro and lemon juice for garnish
Method:
1. Wash and soak dals for an hour. Drain, add to a deep pan with 3.5 cups water. Partially cover and cook at medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until the split peas are tender and slightly mushy. Add the salt and keep on low heat. (you can use 1 cup split peas if you do not have mung dal, or use 1 cup mung dal if you do not have split peas. the mung dal will cook faster)
2. Meanwhile, make the tempering. In a medium skillet, add oil and heat at medium.
3. Add onions and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until translucent.
4. In a grinder, or a blender, combine the bay leaf, ginger, fennel, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika, lemon juice into a smooth paste. Use a few tsp of water if needed.
5. Add the ginger spice mixture to the onions and mix well. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the ginger and spice smell roasted. Stir frequently.
6. Add the tempering to the simmering dal. Mix well. Taste and adjust salt and spice.
7. Cook 5 minutes or longer to make thicker soup. Add water to thin to desired consistency. Serve hot garnished with cilantro and lemon juice, with cumin scented rice, quinoa or flatbread.
For variations: Add chopped turnip or other root vegetable to the dals in step 1 and cook.
Use Kashmiri garam masala instead of the spices and mix with paprika and ginger and use.
Jan
Hi,
just out of curiosity. What difference would it make, if I made everything in one pot (onion, tempering, then added water and dal and let it cook)?
Just trying to understand these indian cooking methods 🙂
Thanks a lot
Richa
Try it both ways to see if you notice the difference 🙂 if not then you can add spices all together
Claux
Hey thanks for this.
Just made for lunch. Delicious although I increased the amount of spices but that s my personal taste!
Jess Nistala
Wow. I made this yesterday for dinner last night and Wow .. I’m still eating it this morning! I made it in my instant pot so made the tadka first and then added the dals. Amazing! I love your recipes! Thanks for sharing;)
Richa
yay
Maneesha
Soo aromatic and so flavorful! Made this for dinner, and it was a hit! It paired so well with naan and with rice too! Thanks for a beautiful daal recipe, Richa!
Richa
thanks Maneesa! Tthere are a bunch more daals in my first book if you dont have it 🙂
Airyfairycelt
this looks so good.
I made a big pot of another one last night! Cold, lightning and rain storms so need central heating.
I am gradually working my way through your lovely, long list of much loved lentils.
The jar ones are turning out to be so useful too. I always get food, soup and a roti stuffed with raw vegetables is more than a good big meal.
I love the foods with clearly marked allergens/sensitivities carefully put up there for us all, thank you Richa.
Emily
I’m going to double this recipe, wondering whether I should use exactly 2x of all the ingredients? Cook in 2x as much water?
I pre-ordered your cookbook yesterday, so excited!
Richa
2x for ingredients and water. you can start with a 1/2 cup less water and add more if you need it.
Richa
yay! Thank you for the pre-order!!
Amy
Hi Richa!
What do you recommend for grinding the tempering spices and ginger mixture? I have a mini food processor but I don’t feel like it does a very good job. Would a mortar and pestle work? Or do you use something else?
Also, would it be terrible if I added some garlic? 🙂
Richa
you can use a mortar and pestle. grind them enough so most of the whole spices break into smaller pieces. you can add anything that you like 🙂 garlic would be nice!
Corrin Radd
Made this tonight, too. Loved it.
Jennifer Flight
I have only recently discovered your blog, but I can see that it’s going to be a favorite. What a treat to hear that there is a book on the way!
Richa
Thank you Jennifer. I am so glad you like what i post!
Gabby @ the veggie nook
I think that spin for your cookbook is just wonderful! Very unique theme for a vegan cookbook 🙂
Richa
Thanks Gabby!
Annie
This is just a “teaser” recipe, Richa :-)!
Richa
there might be more teasers later. 😉
The Vegan Cookie Fairy
I love your Indian recipes, especially dal, because they remind me so much of the food I had on my travels in India. (Food was definitely the best thing about India :P) I’m so excited about your book! If you need a recipe tester, I’d be more than happy to help!
Richa
<3 thank you Clem!
Richa
well i agre with you there. food is definitely awesome in India!
Kurinji
Colorful and aromatic dal….lovely clicks…
Cadry's Kitchen
I’m so excited for your upcoming cookbook, Richa!! It’s going to be fantastic. There’s a huge need for a top notch vegan Indian cookbook, and I know you’ll deliver it.
Richa
thank you Cadry. I hope so too! I would be heartbroken if it didn’t work 🙂
Katie
Hi Richa,
140+ recipes of Indian and Indian fusion from your creative (and genius) kitchen sounds like one of the best cookbooks a girl could ever have! I’m sad that there will be less of the great Indian recipes (I’ve slowly made my way through all of your posted dal and curries and have started to make my own fusion ones 🙂 ) posted in the near future, but with the promise of a cookbook, the wait will be worth it!
All the best in your cookbook process, and I look forward to eating this dal as soon as possible! Yum!
Cheers,
Katie
PS If you need another tester, I am always willing 😀
Richa
thank you Katie 🙂 i have enough testers right now. i will ping you when someone drops out!
Caitlin
i love your dals so much. i’m so excited for your cookbook!
Richa
<3 <3
Jana
This is my first try at one of your recipes. I followed the directions but doubled everything. I automatically started with garlic as I’m accustomed to doing. It was way too overpowering, all of the spices, and I like Indian food. It seemed like all of the spices were battling it out.
I realize, in hindsight, I made a couple of mistakes: I wasn’t able to get some of the spices I had minced enough in my food processor. Also, the peas didn’t get soft enough because I didn’t keep them submerged under enough water during that hour. Anyhow, I’m letting them boil and I added some almond milk to subdue the spices and I hope that helps. Otherwise, cloves, ginger and peppers plus all the other spices are just too much for me. I’ll try another recipe of yours with fewer spices next time. Thanks!…Oh (gasp) I’m so embarrassed! I didn’t have powdered cloves so I tried whole cloves but added 1 teaspoon. No wonder it’s so overwhelming (nasty, actually). What a waste! Hmmm, maybe I can drain it all and add the peas and beans to my dog food. Mistakes are part of cooking. Be careful with your cloves, cooks!
Richa
Hi Jana,
I am glad you tried it. Here are a few things that are probably not working. the 1 tsp cloves is way too much, its almost 8 times the amount of cloves needed in the recipe. Cloves are a very strong spice, so that is what you are probably tasting. other spices gel well with split peas.
Split peas have varied cooking time depending on how old they are. Sometimes my split peas cook in 30 minutes and sometimes they take 2 hours. Its all dependent on the bulk section gods :), where i get my split peas.. hence , i prefer to pressure cook them. In the saucepan, once they are tender, you can blend up most of them for a creamy dal.
the spices even if not fully blended are fine. D id you mean ginger? there is not garlic in the recipe.
Here is what you can do to fix this. Fish out the whole cloves if any and remove them. Drain the split peas as most of the spices are probably still in the liquid (water).
Wash cooked split peas a few times, then return to the saucepan with fresh water and cook them. Taste after a few minutes to see if they are still too strong. if not, then adjust the salt and heat to preference and continue to cook for another 15 or so minutes.
another thing you can do is add some vegetables and rice and more liquid to the split peas and cook until the rice cooks through. Rice takes up a lot of the spices and salt when it cooks so that might reduce some as well.
Hope this helps.