Mash Ki Dal
whole black urad cooked down thick and buttery over a mustard oil base, the everyday hill dal
Start the day before. The soaking alone is 6 hr, against 70 min of actual work.
Allergens in Mash Ki Dal: milk, mustard.
Ingredients
Quantities for 4.
- 200g, soaked 6 hours Whole Urad
- 50g, soaked 6 hours Chana Dalgives body and a little sweetnessoptional
- 3 tbsp Mustard Oil
- 2 tbsp Gheestirred in at the end, not cooked in
- 1 large, finely chopped Onion
- 8 cloves, finely chopped Garlic
- 2cm piece, julienned Ginger
- 2 medium, chopped Tomato
- 2, slit Green Chilli
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetidacompounded-free hing keeps this gluten-free
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Chilli Powder
- 1/2 tsp Dry Ginger Powderoptional
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
- 3 tbsp, chopped Coriander Leavesoptional
- to taste Salt
- 900ml Water
Cookware
stovetop, pressure cooker, kadhai
Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.
Before you start
- Soak the urad and chana dal together for at least 6 hours. Unsoaked whole urad takes an hour of pressure and still eats chalky.
- Chop the onion fine - in the hills this dal is not blended, so the onion has to melt into it.
- Have the ghee at room temperature; it goes in off the heat at the end.
Method
- Pressure cook the drained dals with 900ml water, the turmeric and 1 tsp salt for 5 whistles, then 15 minutes on the lowest flame. Let the pressure drop naturally.The dal is ready when a grain smears to paste between your fingers with no grit at the centre.
- Heat the mustard oil in a kadhai until it smokes lightly, then cool it 20 seconds off the flame.
- Crackle the cumin, add the asafoetida, then the garlic. Fry 40 seconds until it just turns pale gold.Garlic past gold goes bitter and there is nothing in this dal to hide it behind.
- Add the onion and cook on medium, stirring, for 10 to 12 minutes until it is properly brown at the edges and sweet-smelling.
- Stir in the ginger and green chillies, then the coriander powder, chilli powder and dry ginger. Fry 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes and cook 6 to 8 minutes, pressing them down, until they break completely and the oil pulls away to the sides.
- Pour the cooked dal into the masala. Simmer uncovered 15 to 20 minutes on low, stirring and mashing against the pan, until it thickens enough to hold a furrow behind the spoon.This long open simmer is what separates hill mash dal from a thin plains dal. Do not shortcut it.
- Check the salt, sprinkle over the garam masala and take off the heat.
- Stir in the raw ghee and the coriander leaves and cover for 5 minutes before serving with rice or a hot roti.Adding the ghee off the heat keeps its aroma; cooked in, it just disappears.
Storage
Keeps 4 days refrigerated and thickens to a paste. Loosen with hot water and reheat on low, then add a fresh half-spoon of ghee before serving.
Nutrition Good estimate
One serving of Mash Ki Dal (410 g) is about 417 calories, or 102 calories per 100 g.
Medium protein: 16 g a serving, 15% of the calories
| Per serving410 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 417 kcal | 102 kcal |
| Protein | 15.5 g | 4 g |
| Carbohydrate | 49.6 g | 12 g |
| of which sugars | 6.0 g | 2 g |
| Fibre | 12.1 g | 3 g |
| Fat | 19.2 g | 5 g |
| of which saturated | 5.5 g | 1 g |
| of which unsaturated | 12.0 g | 3 g |
Ingredients given to taste count as zero, so the real figures run a little higher. Nearest database match used for asafoetida, garam masala, whole urad. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.
More like this: Healthy Indian recipes · Vegetarian Indian recipes · Gluten-free Indian recipes · Pahari recipes
Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.