Dal Chawal, the national dish of India

And the comfort food and sustenance of a billion

Dal chawal, arguably the national dish of India, belongs to the pantheon of world’s canonical dishes like pasta, sandwiches, kebabs, tacos and noodles. They are proven comfort food of millions, warm the tummy and heart, straddle gracefully into other cuisines and are insanely adaptable. Once you internalize the basics of cooking these classics, a new recipe emerges – every single time.

Dal means pulses and chawal is rice – a marriage made in heaven, that has turned out so happy that both are spreading joy to mere mortals like us. I want to eat dal chawal when I’m exhausted because cooking it is a cinch, when I’m happy because I want to feel the warmth in my tummy and the tingling through the fingertips (mix and eat dal chawal with hands for the complete effect), when I’m sad because it reminds me of simplicity and baggage-free days and, after a holiday – when the taste buds are dying for a feel of home.

Beans, lentils…. pulses

My favorite way to eat dal chawal is with a side of hot, spicy, mouth-puckering mango pickle. Papad, hand whacked baby white onion, green chile pickle, any cooked sabji, and potato chips are other beloved accompaniments.

Dal is a broad term used for beans, peas, lentils cooked in myriad ways and dazzling combinations. Dal’s dominance in the Indian diet makes it an apt representative of the country’s culinary diversity. South and West Indians love them some split pigeon peas or toovar dal while the North Indians want moong or masoor dals. The eastern part of country also prefers moong, masoor and green peas.

Cooked dal is enriched with vegetables, alliums and/or spices, while they surrender their being to tadka for the greater good of flavor. Spinach, chard, kale, fenugreek leaves impart beautiful green flecks as well as solid nutritive content.

Today’s meal is white rice, masoor or red lentils dal and carrot slaw aka carrot kachumbar or koshimbir. Masoor dal is my favorite dal because it cooks the fastest among pulses, it’s supremely creamy and the leftovers transform into red lentil soup with a punch of coconut milk.

Red Lentils or Masoor Dal

RECIPE – MASOOR DAL

Ingredients

• ½ cup red lentils or masoor dal

• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee

• ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds

• ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 whole dry red chile pepper, either adobo or guajillo (optional)

• ½ cup diced red onions, ½” pieces (about half a small onion)

• 2 garlic cloves peeled and chopped into coarse pieces

• ½ cup diced tomatoes, ½” pieces (about 1 medium roma tomato)

• ¼ teaspoon red chile powder

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon sugar

• ½ teaspoon lime juice

• Cilantro for garnish

Serves 2 people

Chopped vegetables

Method

• Wash ½ cup red lentils in water till the water you drain runs clear, which generally takes about 3 rinses.

• Place these lentils in a thick-bottomed pot and add 3 cups of water.

• Let the lentils soak in water for 10 minutes.

• Place the pot with lentils on a burner and turn the heat to high.

• After 5 minutes, lentils start foaming and after 10 minutes, foam covers the lentils.

• Remove and discard the foam and lower the heat to medium.

• Cook the lentils for another 25 minutes and whisk them 2-3 times in that cooking time. Whisking makes the dal creamy. Turn the heat off.

• Every lentil should break up to form a mushy, velvety liquid. Add turmeric powder and mix well.

• Now place a small sauté pan with edges on medium heat and pour 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil. After 2-2.5 minutes, add ¼ teaspoon mustard and cumin seeds. These seeds can fly and sting, so please be careful.

• Once these seeds stop popping, add 1 whole dry red chile and 1/2 cup onions. Sauté.

• Let the onions acquire a brown edge, which will take about 7-8 minutes. Add pieces of 2 roughly chopped garlic cloves, 1/2 cup diced tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon red chile powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon sugar.

Onions, tomatoes, garlic giving up their being to the tadka

• When the onion-tomato mixture starts secreting bubbles of oil at the edges, you will know that the moisture has evaporated. Pour onion-tomato flavor base into the pot of dal carefully along with 1/2 teaspoon lime juice. Rinse out the sauté pan with about 1/2 cup water and pour that water into dal.

• Remember this onion, tomato base sauce, it is an excellent starting point for any cooked pulses or beany stews.

• Turn the heat off after dal comes to a full boil.

• Garnish with cilantro. Eat with white rice, brown rice or quinoa.

• Turn the leftovers into a red lentil soup.

• If you have a cup of dal leftover, pour in ½ cup coconut milk, re-spice with salt and pepper and heat to a boil.

Garnish with fresh cilantro, squeeze some lime juice and enjoy the soup.

Dal

RECIPE - WHITE RICE COOKED ON THE STOVETOP

Ingredients

• 1 cup basmati rice

• 2 1/4 cups room temperature water

Method

• Wash 1 cup basmati rice under running water till water runs clean

• Soak 1 cup water in 2 1/4 cups water for 10 minutes in a pot with lid

• Place the pot on the stovetop with high heat

• In 10 minutes, water will start boiling from the edges

• In another 5 minutes, water will evaporate

• Reduce the heat to medium and cover with a lid.

• Turn off after 5 minutes.

• Let rest for 10-15 min before serving.

RECIPE – CARROT SLAW

I made a happy discovery while testing this recipe. I hail from the Marathwada region of Maharashtra - the state on the west coast of India (its capital is Mumbai). The Marathwadi cooks use roasted peanut powder profusely to thicken sauces and insert a creamy homogeneity. Both my mother and MIL roast, de-husk and grind the peanuts every 2-3 weeks to create their stash. I do too, however in this recipe, I substituted roasted peanut powder with peanut butter, and it worked - totally.

Carrot Slaw aka koshimbir or kachumbar

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated carrots

• 1 tablespoon peanut butter

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon lime juice

• ½ teaspoon red chile powder

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds

• Cilantro for garnish

Method

• Mix 2 cups grated carrots, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon red chile powder, 1 teaspoon lime juice in a bowl.

• Plop the tablespoon of peanut butter on top of this mix. Don’t mix yet.

• Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a small pot.

• After 2 minutes, add 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds.

• Turn the heat off once the seeds stop sizzling.

• Pour the tadka on top of the peanut butter. The hot oil in the tadka will ensure the peanut butter softens and adheres to the carrots. Stir well.

• Garnish with cilantro.

• Serve as a side with dal chawal.

Steel dinnerware is my everyday dinnerware

CHRONOLOGY OF STEPS

• Wash and soak rice

• Wash and soak red lentils

• Cut onions, tomatoes and garlic

• Start cooking red lentils on high heat

• After 10 minutes turn the heat to medium for the pot of red lentils

• Start cooking rice

• Whisk red lentils

• After 15 minutes, water in the rice will evaporate

• Cover the rice with a lid and reduce heat to medium

• Turn the heat off for rice after 5 minutes of covered cooking

• Start making tadka for the dal

• Cook onions, tomatoes, garlic in tadka

• Pour the onion, tomato base in the dal and cook for another 5 minutes

• Temper the consistency of the dal according to preference

• Grate carrots

• Make carrot slaw

• Sorry, not time to watch a show during this meal. I am watching Black Doves on Netflix, what are you watching? In case, you watch international shows, I highly recommend Paatal Lok on Prime. Paatal Lok means underworld, literally (under the earth’s crust) and figuratively.

SHOPPING LIST

1. Red lentils – available in grocery stores

2. Mango Pickle – Mother’s Hot Mango Pickle

ChutneyLovers’ next post is a doozy. Though this dish is mostly relegated to the sidelines on Indian tables, the flavors, cooking style and the results are outstanding - worthy of being a lunch. It’s a big salad, Indian style.