Daal recipes have consumed me for the past few weeks. Today’s daal is a Rajasthani recipe. It is the kind of daal I have eaten at ‘thali restaurants’ like Sukanta or Khandani Rajdhani here in Pune. And you won’t believe how hard it was to find a recipe for this simple daal. I finally ended up making my own.
When it comes to Indian cooking, less can be more. I believe I have tried to illustrate it with #30daysofdaal. Most of the recipes in this series have been created such that a particular taste stands out.
I love the daal and kadhi in Rajasthani restaurants. Only caveat, it is very often too sweet. Having a slight sweet taste can be pleasant, but eating a daal that is syrupy sweet is neither good for the body, nor pleasant for the palate.
I searched high and low on the web for a Rajasthani Daal but the recipes were the usual – onion, tomato, dhaniya-jeera, garam masala, yada yada yada – same old, same old. If you have been here before, you know what I say about this. Adding everything to everything creates the same taste every time. No one likes that!
My takeaway from a Rajasthani daal is a strong flavor of cloves, strong enough to warm your throat as it goes down. There is some sweetness to balance the cloves, and round chilies that are used in a tadka or tempering. So I did just that.
This Rajasthani Daal recipe is very simple. Cooked toor daal is simmered with some ground cloves, seasoned with some sugar and salt. A tadka of oil, cumin seeds or jeera, whole cloves and round dry red chili is added in. That’s it.
This daal looks slightly blackish because of the cloves that are added in.
Rajasthani Daal can be sipped on its own on a cool day, or served with a typical Indian meal. Although ghee is used a lot in Rajasthani cuisine, I am making this daal with oil. So this is a vegan recipe.
Rajasthani Daal Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup toor daal cooked
- 1.5-2 cups water
- 5-6 cloves crushed
- 1-2 tsp sugar
- Salt to taste
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- Pinch of hing
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 4 cloves whole
- 4 round red chili or any chili
Method
- Add water to cooked toor daal to get a desired consistency.
- Add ground cloves and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 15-20 minutes so that the flavor of cloves is infused in the daal.
- Season with salt and sugar to get a hint of sweetness, enough to balance the heat of the cloves.
- For the tadka or tempering – heat oil in a small wok. Add cumin seeds, hing, cloves and red chili in rapid succession. Switch off heat to avoid burning.
- Pour this on the daal carefully and mix it in. Save some for topping the daal.
- Simmer daal for 5 more minutes. Serve garnished with the remaining tadka or tempered oil mixture.
- Serve as part of an Indian meal with roti or rice.
Try this vegan Rajasthani Daal. You are going to love it. Have you checked other recipes in #30daysofdaal? Also, I am waiting to see you on Facebook as part of our Monsoon Magic Giveaway. I share a lot of fun stuff there from across the web.
Happy Sipping!
