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

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:143]

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!