It is interesting how recipes and dishes travel the world! My Pakistani neighbour asked me if I knew the recipe for bhuni urad daal. At first I was lost. I had never heard of it, let alone taste it. After she left, I called my mom if she knew the recipe for it. My mom told me it’s a very common Punjabi dish and her landlady makes it quite often so she asked her and that’s how this recipe came from Chandigarh to Angola!
This recipe for bhuni urad daal is very flavourful and simple. It tastes very different from regular daal preparations. It is dry and more like a vegetable than regular soupy daal. In this recipe, I make it with urad daal but any lentil can be used in the recipe.
Bhuni Urad Daal
By Ashima Goyal Siraj
Preparation time: |Cooking time: |Serves: 4
1 cup white urad daal, washed and soaked for 1 hour
2 onions, chopped
1 inch ginger, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 black cardamom (badi elaichi)
4-5 black peppercorns
4-5 cloves
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsps ghee/ oil
Juice of 1 lemon
- Heat ghee (use oil for vegan preparations) in a kadhai
- Once the ghee/ oil is hot, add onions, sauté until the onion start to brown
- Add green chillies and ginger. Sauté for 2-3 mins
- Add all the spices and mix well.
- Drain the daal and add it to the kadhai. Mix well and sauté for 5 mins.
- Add just enough water (about 1½ cup) to cover the top of daal with a thin layer and cook covered on low flame till the daal is soft and the water has dried. Depending on your liking you can keep some water so that the daal is not very dry.
- Drizzle lemon juice, mix well.
- Remove from heat and garnish with chopped green chillies and fresh coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with chappattis or paranthas.
This recipe was first published in my column in The Indian Express: http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/food-wine/dont-like-daal-try-this-bhuni-urad-daal/
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