Give the quintessential lentil recipe a twist with this dry preparation. Bhuni Urad dal is a flavourful side with fluffy rotis or paranthas.
Food connects us across cultures and continents. A simple dish can spark conversations, share traditions, and even inspire new culinary creations. This recipe for Bhuni Urad Daal is a perfect example. It all started with a conversation with my neighbor in Angola, Rehana, who hailed from Multan, Pakistan (not far from Punjab). As we chatted over steaming cups of chai, Rehana asked if I knew how to make Bhuni Urad Daal.
Until then, I had not even heard about it. She said it’s a Punjabi dish and she had eaten it during her travels in Punjab. Later I called up my mother and asked if she knew about the recipe and of course she did :-). Moms know everything!. Unlike the wet lentil curry I was familiar with, Bhuni Urad Daal is a dry affair. This Bhuni Urad Dal is a delightful departure from the usual lentil curries both in flavour and texture.
The dish is bursting with flavour with whole garam masala spices like bay leaf, peppercorns, and cloves. It’s almost like a savoury vegetable fry, but made with protein-packed lentils! The wet dal is soupy and often mashed but in this preparation, the urad dal “grains” stay beautifully intact – perfect for scooping up with fluffy rotis.
Bhuni Urad Daal
Ingredients (1cup = 240ml; 1tbsp = 15ml; 1tsp = 5ml)
- 1 cup white urad daal washed and soaked for 1 hour
- 2 onions chopped
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 1 green chilli chopped
- 1 tomato
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 4-5 black peppercorns
- 2 cloves
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsps ghee/ oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- fresh coriander for garnish
Instructions
- 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 half the green chillies and ginger. Sauté for 2-3 mins
- Add the chopped tomatoes and all the spices. 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, and mix well.
- Remove from heat and garnish with chopped green chillies and fresh coriander leaves.
This recipe was originally published on the blog on September 6th, 2014 when I lived in Angola. It also featured in my Food Column in Indian Express which I used to write from there.
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