I need a simple, delicious daal recipe with exact amounts of ingredients

[Anonymous]

I am Indian but have never mastered making daal, partly because my mother, grandmother and aunts all tell me to add a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I need exact quantities. I am not a great cook but I can follow directions.
Please let me know your recipe!

[Anonymous]

http://www.thespicespoon.com/blog/lentils/

[Anonymous]

I think it's a great idea to master a basic recipe, but don't worry if you make slight changes to make it your own.
http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-dal-153501

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's a great idea to master a basic recipe, but don't worry if you make slight changes to make it your own.
http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-dal-153501

It is actually a complicated recipe and takes a long time to cook. I am Indian and cook a variety of daal every day. I usually make daal in a pressure cooker (unless I am making maah ki daal in a crockpot) and it is a done in less than 10 minutes.

Even microwave is a great way to make every day daal.

[Anonymous]

OP, can you tell what kind of daal you want to cook?

The ones with their skins on like Sabut Kali Urad (to make maah ki daal or daal makhani), or rajmaah (kidney beans), or lobiyaah (black eyed beans) or choley (chick peas curry), or kale channe (ones used in pujas that are almost dry)? Or something which is more Dhaba style - Daal Panchratni (with 5 kinds of lentils) or Daal makhani or whole green mung daal with loads of onions, tomatoes and coriander leaves? Or a simple dhuli daal (lentils without skin) -moong, masoor, toovar(arhar), dhooli urad, chana...

Or a south Indian saambhar with veggies, imli and curry leaves?

Do you want to cook in a pressure cooker, microwave, crockpot or a heavy bottom pan?

What kind of Tadka or baghaar do you want? Finely chopped onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cilantro? Do you want whole spices like cumin, coriander, or like them crushed? Do you like hing (Asafoetida)? Do you want some heat - chilli powder, crushed chillies, whole dry chillies?

Here is a very easy recipe for pressure cooker for a simple yellow daal. This is what my son likes. It is very light on spices (he hates how whole cumin looks as well as taste of hing).



1/2 cup dhuli (skinless) split yellow mung, 1/2 cup skinless masoor. (so total of 1 cup dry lentils), rinse and drain.
4 cups water
Salt to taste, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds (ground finely).
1 spoonful ghee (you can use butter).

Cook in a pressure cooker with weight on. After one whistle, switch off the burner. Wait for 7 minutes and then rinse the cooker under water to cool it off.
(Since I do not know how your pressure cooker will cook and at what time ... you can open the cooker and check. If the daal looks thick, add some water. If it looks very liquid simmer for more time to thicken it)

If you want to add tadka, you have various options. An easy one is just cumin browned in ghee and a pinch of hing. Some people like garlic and cumin browned in ghee (without burning the garlic) and poured over the daal (shut the lid after the baghaar to capture the smokiness of the cumin).

I usually just caramelized chopped onions in ghee for tadka.

This recipe can be used for a variety of easy to cook daals (not beans etc...they need more cooking time)...

[Anonymous]

PP, too many questions for OP. Come on.

[Anonymous]

op, To save time, I cook Daal in pressure cooker.

Simple Dal :

1 cup of Toor Dal. Wash it, add 2 cups of water, 1/2 spoon of turmeric powder, 1 slit green chillie and cook for three whistles. After the pressure is off, remove the lid, add salt per your taste and mash the Dal with the back of ladle.
For tadka:
Peel 2-3 garlic cloves and slice them. de seed 2 red chillies.
Heat 1 spoon of butter in a small pan or big ladle, when it is hot add garlic, 1/2 spoon of mustard seeds, 1 spoon of cumin seeds, 2 red chillies and 5-6 curry leaves. When all are sizzling, turn off the stove and add this tadka mix to cooked Dal, stir and close the lid.

Daal Fry:

Cook Daal and add salt similar to above.

For seasoning:
Chop 1/2 onion and 2 tomatoes. Handful of cilantro finely chopped. Peel 3-4 garlic cloves and slice them. Heat butter in a frying pan, add garlic, 1/2 spoon of mustard, 1 spoon of cumin seeds, 2 red chillies, when they are sizzling, add onions and let them try for 3-4 minutes, add 1/2 spoon of coriander powder and 1/4 spoon of garam masala, stir the powders, add tomatoes and cook. Add this mixture to cooked Dal. Mix finely chopped cilantro and add 1-2 spoons of like juice and close the lid.


Spinach/methi Dal:
Cook 1 cup of DSL with 2 cups of leaves and add 2 green chillies. Follow the seasoning similar to dal fry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, can you tell what kind of daal you want to cook?

The ones with their skins on like Sabut Kali Urad (to make maah ki daal or daal makhani), or rajmaah (kidney beans), or lobiyaah (black eyed beans) or choley (chick peas curry), or kale channe (ones used in pujas that are almost dry)? Or something which is more Dhaba style - Daal Panchratni (with 5 kinds of lentils) or Daal makhani or whole green mung daal with loads of onions, tomatoes and coriander leaves? Or a simple dhuli daal (lentils without skin) -moong, masoor, toovar(arhar), dhooli urad, chana...

Or a south Indian saambhar with veggies, imli and curry leaves?

Do you want to cook in a pressure cooker, microwave, crockpot or a heavy bottom pan?

What kind of Tadka or baghaar do you want? Finely chopped onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cilantro? Do you want whole spices like cumin, coriander, or like them crushed? Do you like hing (Asafoetida)? Do you want some heat - chilli powder, crushed chillies, whole dry chillies?

Here is a very easy recipe for pressure cooker for a simple yellow daal. This is what my son likes. It is very light on spices (he hates how whole cumin looks as well as taste of hing).



1/2 cup dhuli (skinless) split yellow mung, 1/2 cup skinless masoor. (so total of 1 cup dry lentils), rinse and drain.
4 cups water
Salt to taste, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds (ground finely).
1 spoonful ghee (you can use butter).

Cook in a pressure cooker with weight on. After one whistle, switch off the burner. Wait for 7 minutes and then rinse the cooker under water to cool it off.
(Since I do not know how your pressure cooker will cook and at what time ... you can open the cooker and check. If the daal looks thick, add some water. If it looks very liquid simmer for more time to thicken it)

If you want to add tadka, you have various options. An easy one is just cumin browned in ghee and a pinch of hing. Some people like garlic and cumin browned in ghee (without burning the garlic) and poured over the daal (shut the lid after the baghaar to capture the smokiness of the cumin).

I usually just caramelized chopped onions in ghee for tadka.

This recipe can be used for a variety of easy to cook daals (not beans etc...they need more cooking time)...

Rinsing a pressure cooker under cool water to cool it off and reduce pressure quickly is very dangerous and Specifically NOT recommended in every manufacturers book I have seen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am Indian but have never mastered making daal, partly because my mother, grandmother and aunts all tell me to add a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I need exact quantities. I am not a great cook but I can follow directions.
Please let me know your recipe!

me too! great thread!

[Anonymous]

OP here. I have no pressure cooker. Any stovetop recipes?

[Anonymous]

In my opinion masoor dal is easiest if you don't have a pressure cooker. Get one, though! It's a great time and energy saver if you plan to eat more dal.

[Anonymous]

Do you have a rice cooker? I use it a lot for masoor daal. I use 1 cup of masoor daal, 3 1/2 cups water. I add dried onion- 2 tablespoons, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Unlike the pressure cooker, you do have to stir it a few times and scrape the bottom, but still easier than on the stove top. Of course, make sure you wash the daal 3-4 times before adding water. I add frozen peas at the end and some ghee for taste. It is a staple in our house. DC love rice and daal.

[Anonymous]

1/8 tsp pepper flakes, not 1/4!

[Anonymous]

Op here. I don't have a rice cooker or pressure cooker. Can I do your recipe on the stove?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I don't have a rice cooker or pressure cooker. Can I do your recipe on the stove?

Are you sure you are Indisn??