Bengali dal recipe – a simple everyday recipe
Musur dal or red lentils is a favourite of mine. The humble red lentils or musur dal is consistently present in most Indian kitchens.
Dal is like a second staple item in Indian kitchens next to rice. So I wanted to share this simple recipe. The base ingredient Musur dal is I believe the most widely used lentil in India and particularly in Bengal. We have a variety of ways to prepare this dal, this particular recipe is my favourite and most frequently made in my home.
Musur dal is usually served with hot rice and some side vegetables and is a palate cleanser for me. After days of heavy eating, it is refreshing to have musur dal with plain rice.
Simple to make this dal recipe uses a very few ingredients. So each ingredients leaves a distinct taste and one can enjoy the simplicity.
This recipe demands mustard oil, you can not get the same flavour with any other oil. Though I have made this with normal vegetable oil, using mustard oil keeps it’s authenticity.
And then there is onions, thinly slices onions give the dish it’s distinct texture, using grated onions or onion paste will not do justice.
Then frying the onions to a golden brown but not mushy is all you need. This fried onions give a sweetness to the dal recipe, which is so widely enjoyed in almost all households in Bengal.
And a final note I should add here, this dal is an excellent source of plant protein and very easy to digest.
And here is the recipe in details.
INGREDIENTS
What you need
1 Cup red lentils or musur dal
1 Dried red chilli
1/4 tsp Kaalo jeera (nigella seeds)
2 tblsp Mustard oil
1 Green chilli slit (optional)
1 Medium onion sliced
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
METHOD
- Wash the dal thoroughly, till water runs clear.
- Boil the dal in an open vessel, with 2 cups of water. Add a tsp of turmeric and half of the salt. Drizzle some oil on top.
- You can use a pressure cooker too.
- Now in a kadai or wok add mustard oil. Heat the oil till it turns pale yellow. Keep the flame medium. Temper oil with dried red chilli.
- You can use vegetable oil too, but the flavours are rendered best with mustard oil.
- Add kaalo jeera or nigella seeds
- Once the seeds splutter add the sliced onions and slit green chillis
- Fry the onions till golden brown about 3-4 minutes
- Now add turmeric.
- Add the boiled dal, be careful. Add the remaining salt and the sugar.
- Boil for a few minutes, about 5 minutes.
- Your dal is ready. Add coriander leaves if desired.
- Best served with hot white rice.