Dahi vaali Daal just means daal with yogurt. If you came in late, I am blogging about #30daysofdaal in June. The idea is to showcase the wide variety of daal recipes Indian food has to offer.
This Dahi Daal or yogurt based daal is a case in point for how simple Indian food can be. The general impression is that cooking Indian food requires a ton of ingredients and a whole lot of time. Well, that may be true in some cases. But there are ways to cook simple recipes with fewer ingredients that are high on taste and flavor, not to mention nutrition.
Moong Daal or Mung Dal is easy to digest and also cooks very fast. It does not require a pressure cooker to cook. There have been many times when I have been sans pressure cooker in life. The moong daal always came through for me at such times.
In India, Moong ki Daal is generally supposed to be ‘patient food’ because it is fed to convalescents. So I guess it is our version of chicken soup. But treat it with some spices and condiments and it will give you the same results as any other daal.
Dahi Vaali Daal is a great way of adding more protein to the dish, and also calcium. In short, all the benefits of dairy. The yogurt adds a sour touch and lends a creamy texture. It also takes away the slightly strong taste of the daal itself.
Just like the Daal Tadka and the Tomato Daal I blogged about earlier, this one uses very few ingredients. As you cook with lesser ingredients, you begin to savor the taste of the individual ingredients. Try it and you will know what I mean.
This yogurt based daal makes a very quick high protein soup or stew for vegetarians. It can of course be enjoyed with rice in the traditional ‘daal-rice’ form. But eating a bowlful of this will fill you up without adding too many carbs to your diet.
Dahi Vaali Daal – Moong Daal with Yogurt Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow moong daal cooked
- 1 cup lowfat yogurt
- 1 cup water
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp ginger grated
- 1 Tbsp ghee or oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp turmeric ground
- Pinch of Asafetida
- 2 Tbsp besan or gram flour
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt to taste
Method
- Cook half cup of yellow moong daal and 2 cups of water with some turmeric in a pressure cooker. Alternately, boil this in a stock pot until cooked completely. Daal is cooked when individual grains are not visible.
- Heat the ghee or oil in a wok.
- Once oil is hot, add cumin seeds. They will splutter almost immediately.
- Add the pinch of hing if using and add ginger/ garlic.
- Add ground turmeric and daal right away.
- Add water and mix well.
- Whisk the yogurt and besan or chickpea flour in a bowl. Add this to the wok.
- Mix everything together and bring to a boil.
- Add salt, sugar and cayenne pepper if using.
- Simmer for 10 minutes until the daal is smooth and creamy and the flour has cooked out.
- Serve hot as a soup or as part of an Indian meal.
Try this simple moong daal recipe today and enter slurrrp heaven!
Looks lovely, coloring and spices too.
hello Peggy, thanks 🙂 It is very simple with a few ingredients..hope you try it sometime.
This is new to me. Will try it and your challenge looks very interesting.
Hello Saru…thanks 🙂 yes it tastes pretty good too..surprised myself..nice change from usual moong daal.
Thanks!!