Gujarati Dal
Gujarati Dal is a lentil curry popular in the Gujarat region of India. It is sweet, tangy, and spicy, and is best enjoyed with hot rice. Do try my easy recipe to make it.
Here are some more dal recipes: Dal Makhani, Hyderabadi Khatti Dal, Cholar Dal, Malwa Dal, and Panchmel Dal.
I grew up eating dal every day for lunch. Most days, it was a basic Toor Dal, but my mom would make some variations once or twice a week.
She had a bound book of recipe pages collected from magazines over many years. One of those pages contained the recipe for Gujarati Dal, and with a few alterations to suit our taste buds, she had her own recipe, which I recently learned from her. Sharing her recipe with you all.
About Gujarati Dal
Gujarati Dal is a lentil curry made in the Gujarat region of India. It is sweet, tangy, and spicy all at once and is comfort food for Gujaratis.
Gujarati Dal is very different from the lentil recipes of UP and Bihar. Although it is also made using toor dal, the taste is very different from that of North Indian toor dal. It is also much thinner than the North Indian version.
Each Gujarati home has a different way of making this dal, but the final flavor is generally the same.
What is the right consistency of Gujarati dal?
This dal is thinner than the North Indian-style dal we eat at home.
Let the dal sit in a bowl for 30 minutes to check its consistency. If the water starts to float on top and dal settles beneath, it’s correct. However, there are no rules. If you like your dal thick, keep it thick 🙂
Ingredients
You will find all the ingredients to cook the Gujarati dal recipe in any Indian grocery store.
To Cook The Dal
You will need toor dal (arhar dal, pigeon pea lentils), raw peanuts, tomatoes, dried kokum, green chilies, turmeric powder, salt, and ginger.
I used Indian green chillies, but you can use any variety that is easily available. You can also adjust the chilies to your taste.
To Add To The Ready Dal
You will need coriander powder, red chilli powder, jaggery, lime juice (or lemon juice), and cilantro.
Use organic dark-colored jaggery, as the light one has chemicals added to it to lighten its color.
For The Tempering
Temper the Gujarati toor dal with ghee, asafetida, fenugreek seeds, brown mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilies, cloves (laung), cinnamon (dalchini), and curry leaves.
You will also need cilantro (fresh coriander leaves) to garnish the dal.
How To Make Gujarati Style Dal
Cook The Dal
Wash 1 cup toor dal and soak in water for 30 minutes.
Drain the water and add the dal to an instant pot with the following ingredients.
- 2 tablespoon raw peanuts
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes
- 2-3 dried kokum
- 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
Add 3 cups of water and stir to combine. Close the lid of the instant pot.
Set the valve to the sealing position.
Press PRESSURE COOK and press the timer for 10 minutes at high pressure.
Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
Move the valve to the venting and release the remaining pressure. Open the lid.
Whisk the cooked dal nicely using a wire whisk.
Note – To cook the dal in a pressure cooker, cook for 1 whistle on high heat, then reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid.
Mix The Dal With Spices
Press the SAUTE button on the instant pot.
Add more water to adjust the consistency of the dal. Gujarati-style dal is supposed to be thin like milk.
Add ½ teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon red chili powder, 1 teaspoon grated jaggery, and 2 tablespoon lime juice and mix well. Bring the dal to a boil.
Note – If cooking in a pressure cooker, cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
Check for salt and lime juice and add more if needed.
Temper The Dal
Heat 2 tablespoon ghee in a small pan over medium-high heat.
Once the ghee is hot, add the following ingredients and let them crackle for 5-6 seconds
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
Add 2-3 dry red chili, 2-3 cloves, 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick, and 10-12 curry leaves, and fry for 3-4 seconds.
Pour the tempering over the cooked dal and mix well.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.
Pro Tips By Neha
Some people add dates in place of jaggery to sweeten the dal. You can try it too.
This dal has no onion and no garlic, so for people who refrain from eating these ingredients, it’s a good option for them to try. To make it Jain-friendly, skip adding ginger and peanuts as well.
Some of my friends told me that they add some dhana jeeru powder and garam masala powder to the dal for a taste change.
You can use a mix of toor dal and yellow moong dal to make this recipe.
Instead of kokum, you can use 1-2 teaspoon of tamarind pulp to add tang to the dal.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this khatti meethi dal with steamed rice or roti and a dry sabji for your everyday Indian-style meals. Serve some dry sabji and mango pickle for a complete meal. This dal is also made as a part of the Gujarati thali during Gujarati weddings or special occasions.
Storage Suggestions
Leftover Gujarati Tuvar dal can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in a pan or microwave until nicely hot before serving again. Add some hot water when reheating if the dal has thickened after refrigeration.
You can also freeze the dal for up to a month. Thaw, reheat, and serve.
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Gujarati Dal Recipe
Ingredients
To Cook The Dal
- 1 cup toor dal
- 2 tablespoons raw peanuts
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes
- 2-3 pieces dried kokum
- 1 teaspoon chopped green chilies
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
To Add To The Ready Dal
- ½ coriander powder
- ½ red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon grated jaggery
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
For The Tempering
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing)
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
- ½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2-3 dry red chilies
- 2-3 cloves (laung)
- 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
- 10-12 curry leaves
Instructions
Cook The Dal
- Wash toor dal and soak in water for 30 minutes.
- Drain the water and add the dal to an instant pot with peanuts, tomatoes, kokum, green chilies, turmeric powder, salt, and ginger.
- Add 3 cups of water and stir to combine. Close the lid of the instant pot.
- Set the valve to the sealing position.
- Press PRESSURE COOK and press the timer for 10 minutes at high pressure.
- Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
- Move the valve to the venting and release the remaining pressure. Open the lid.
- Whisk the cooked dal nicely using a wire whisk.
- Note – To cook the dal in a pressure cooker, cook for 1 whistle on high heat, then reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid.
Mix The Dal With Spices
- Press the SAUTE button on the instant pot.
- Add more water to adjust the consistency of the dal. Gujarati-style dal is supposed to be thin like milk.
- Add coriander powder, red chili powder, jaggery, and lime juice and mix well. Bring the dal to a boil.
- Note – If cooking in a pressure cooker, cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
- Check for salt and lime juice and add more if needed.
Temper The Dal
- Heat ghee in a small pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the ghee is hot, add asafetida, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds, and let them crackle for 5-6 seconds
- Add dry red chili, cloves, cinnamon stick, and curry leaves, and fry for 3-4 seconds.
- Pour the tempering over the cooked dal and mix well.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.
Dal is an everyday recipe in Indian kitchen. The way you presented this recipe is very good even any one cooking Dal for the first time can do it. Thumbs Up.
Thnx 🙂
I tried this recipe and it turned out well. The sweetness did not overpower the taste of the spices as it so often does. Thank you 🙂
Thnx for trying 🙂
Nice post, things explained in details. Thank You.
Thnx
woww good colour and I love all daal recipes…
Thnx. Can you please change your star rating to 5 if you liked the recipe.