June is here already and in India, we are all waiting for the monsoon. First week of June is hot and humid and everyone is at the end of their tether as far as battling the heat is concerned. ‘Let some rain fall into our lives’, we all feel. Let the heat simmer down.
Well, that is what is happening weather wise. But here at KamalKitchen.com, it is all about ramping up the heat. As you must know, I am #BloggerBanya for the month of June and Banya is featuring a series of three articles about me and two awesome recipes of mine. But that is not all!
We held a giveaway earlier this year for Chef Vikas Khanna’s cookbook and all of you gave an overwhelming response – thanks for that! I asked you to name your favorite Indian dish and a big majority of you – Indian, NRI and non Indian – chose Daal. I was surprised to say the least.
I got thinking about the huge varieties of Daal we make at home. How many of these feature on a restaurant menu? There is your typical Dal Tadka or Dal Fry, maybe a Makhni. But there are more than just two or three ways to make a Daal.
What is Daal anyway?
Daal, dal or dahl as people differently call it is a kind of lentil. Daal is an integral part of any Indian meal. Daal Roti or Daal Rice is what people eat in India irrespective of their economic status. Daal then, levels the playing field for any Indian meal.
Considering this, and your love for daal, and my love for daal, I bring to you my project for June – #30DaysofDaal. Very ambitious, considering I have a lot of other things lined up for this month. But I am going to blog about a daal a day. So that you will end up with thirty, yes thirty different recipes for Daal by the end of the month.
I hope you are excited because I am!
I will be using the many different kinds of daal varieties available like Tur, Moong or Mung, Masoor and so on. I will be sharing a lot of Maharashtrian recipes for making Daal and also try to give you a glimpse of local specialties from other Indian states.
So to begin at the beginning, Day 1 of #30DaysofDaal is all about Daal Tadka. This is the most common, most loved version, and it is ready in minutes without too much fuss.
Get the recipe for Daal Tadka below and stay tuned for more in the series. You can sign up below so that you get an email about it.
Daal Tadka Recipe – Vegan Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup Toor Daal
- ¼ cup chana Daal
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 3-4 cloves garlic (optional)
- 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric ground
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 dry red chili (Byadgi, Kashmiri etc.)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
- salt
Method
- Wash Daal and cook the tur daal and chana daal together in the pressure cooker along with a teaspoon of turmeric.
- Chop garlic if using.
- Once Daal is cooked, whisk well and add water to get desired thickness.
- Add salt to taste.
- Bring the Daal mixture to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Heat oil in a wok.
- After oil is heated, add cumin seeds and let them splutter or pop.
- Add the chopped garlic and let it change color slightly.
- Add the dry red chili and switch off heat immediately. Stand back because the chili might cause the oil to splatter.
- Add the turmeric powder and cayenne pepper or chili powder to the hot oil.
- Pour this tadka or oil/ spice mixture over the Daal.
- Daal Tadka is ready to serve.
- Daal tadka is very simple because it is served as soon as the Tadka is poured on the top. Make sure that every person gets a little bit of the oil mixture as you ladle out the daal.
- Serve with Roti, Naan or rice.
I hope you enjoyed this super simple basic Daal recipe. Stay tuned for more daals in the series. Sign up below so you get an email and don’t miss anything. We are going to have fun, folks!
This dish looks lovely. Though I don’t use a pressure cooker I think I shall try this with the variation in mind.
Hello Peggy, Thanks..I guess you could also use a slow cooker? Tur daal is easiest to cook in a pressure cooker..
Pragati – I am no cook. But now that I am retired, I am thinking of developing my culinary skills. I think I will start with your daal tadka:)
Hello Lata..nice to see you here..you can’t go wrong with this one..And what do you mean retired? I guess you are just swapping one job with another (writing).
Thanks for visiting us.
My favorite Lentil. Thanks for sharing.. Superb picture HD
Hey Vishal..welcome 🙂 Glad you like it and hope you keep visiting!
With that big pepper in the center it looks too hot for me. My hubby, however, loves Daal and is quite the cook. I will be passing this on to him, and I am guessing we will be trying it soon.
Hey Rhonda, thanks for visiting! That pepper is more for decoration 🙂 As long as you leave it whole and don’t let the seeds fall out, you should be fine. And don’t leave it in overnight.