Masala Urad Dal
Next time when you have guests coming over you don’t have to invest hours in making the Dal makhani. This quick and easy masala urad dal will be a perfect addition to your guest menu. It has a perfect balance of spices and butteriness tp please your palate.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 1 medium sized Onion (Finely chopped)
- 4-5 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 1" piece Ginger (minced)
- 2 ripe Tomatoes (pureed)
- 1 tablespoon Tomato paste
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
- 1 cup Split Urad dal (Dhuli urad dal)
- 2 tablespoon Butter
Whole spices
- 2 Bay leaves
- ½ inch stick Cinnamon stick
- 2 Clove
- 3 Greater cardamon (Badi Elaichi - 3)
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
Other spices:
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper powder
- ½ teaspoon Chilli powder (or as per taste)
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala
- Salt- as per taste
Instructions
Preparations
- Soak dal for half an hour.
- Puree the tomatoes.
- Finely chop the onion, garlic, and ginger.
Method
- In pan heat oil and add cumin and whole spices. (Remove seeds of the greater cardamom and coarsely crust them in a pestle and mortar)
- Add finely chopped onion, garlic, and ginger. Saute at a medium-low flame.
- Once they all start to turn golden brown, quickly reduce the heat to further low and add all the other spices. Give it a quick stir and add 3 tablespoon of water. Take care not to burn the spices.
- Add the tomato paste and tomato Puree. Mix well and cover the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until oil starts to leave the side of the pan.
- Now go ahead and add the soaked lentils. Mix well and cover and cook for a minute.
- Add 2 cups of water and put on the lid. Let it cook for 15-20 minutes. Open the lid and give it a stir every 5 minutes.
- Towards the end check if the dal is cooked by squeezing a grain of dal between your fingers. The dal should be cooked from inside but hold its shape.
- Once the dal is cooked, turn off the flame and add butter. Give it a mix and garnish with fresh cilantro.
- Serve hot with roti or naan.
Notes
- You can replace the fresh garlic and ginger with ginger-garlic paste.
- Replace 1 tablespoon of tomato paste with 1 fresh tomato.
- If using a pressure cooker, follow the recipe as it is. Just when you add Dal, put on the lid and cook on high flame till 1 whistle and turn off the flame. Let the pressure release on its own.
- Take care not to overcook the dal, else it will become mushy. We want the grains to be cooked well but retain their shape.
- Replace butter with ghee to give an authentic taste.
Nutrition
Calories: 187kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!