Gujarati dal

Name: Gujarati dal
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 200 g (7 oz/1 cup) toor dal, yellow split dal or pigeon peas; 200 g (7 oz/1 cup) toor dal, yellow split dal or pigeon peas; 200 g (7 oz/1 cup) toor dal, yellow split dal or pigeon peas; 1 teaspoon coconut oil; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 1 teaspoon mustard seeds; ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, optional; 1–2 dried red chillies or 1 green chilli, slit lengthways; 1–2 dried red chillies or 1 green chilli, slit lengthways; 2 cinnamon sticks, optional; 2 cloves, optional; ¼ teaspoon asafoetida; 10–15 fresh curry leaves; 5 tomatoes, chopped, or 5 tablespoons tinned tomatoes; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; ½–1 teaspoon red chilli powder; 1 teaspoon grated ginger; 1½ teaspoons Himalayan salt or sea salt; 1½ teaspoons Himalayan salt or sea salt; 3 tablespoons jaggery, brown sugar or coconut sugar; 3 tablespoons jaggery, brown sugar or coconut sugar; 3 tablespoons jaggery, brown sugar or coconut sugar; handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped, plus extra to garnish; 4–5 kokum (dried mangosteen), soaked in water, optional; 4–5 kokum (dried mangosteen), soaked in water, optional; juice of 2 limes

Preparation info

Serves
4–6
as part of a thali

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Saffron Soul

By Mira Manek

Published 2017

About

What really sets this traditional Gujarati dal apart from other dals is its consistency and its balance of sweet and sour (khatta meetha). The jaggery not only gives the dal a sweetness, but adds to the earthy blend, while there’s a generous squeeze of sour lime to balance this, and then a whole blend of spices. This dal is also much thinner than most other dals, and the lentils are whisked or blended, making it wonderfully smooth.

Ingredients

Asia
India
Main course
Gluten-free
Vegan
Gujarat

Ingredients

Method