Bhavna
The one dish that we sometimes crave for is a simple homemade dal with rice. A simple delicacy of cooked lentils flavoured with kokum or lemon/lime and jaggery or sugar, there are other spices that make this dal a hit. Most of the chefs say that balancing the art of sweet and sour in this preparation is a skill. I can’t agree more!
So you must be thinking what is the difference between household dal and wedding dal? Let me explain that first…I personally even don’t take time to prepare wedding style dal every time I prepare the dal, I just don’t elaborate on all those ingredients used during wedding, instead I make simple, quick dal to serve in my everyday meal. But may be once in a two weeks or so, I crave for that wedding dal flavor and I try to prepare the dal with extra love and care by taking time to gather all the ingredients, taste test many times before serving to make sure it has that taste and of course the aroma would tell how good it has turned out! You can watch the video below to see how quick I prepare my everyday meal thali.
This dal is specially made for Gujarati Wedding (Lagan) – any Gujarati wedding feast is incomplete without the traditional Vara ni Dal, or Toor Dal. For such grand occasions, the dal is boiled over and over again to get the best flavour.It has a characteristic taste that comes from spices like cinnamon, cloves, curry leaves and fenugreek, and the Tadka is made of Ghee, instead of oil, giving it that rich velvety feel which keeps you getting up again for another cup of Dal! Try it, and you’ll see for yourself why this fuss-free recipe is so cherished even on wedding occasions.. My favorite combination is Dal, Bhat, Ringan Bateta nu Shaak, Roti and of course condiments such as Kachumber(salad), Papad, Pickle, Raita and so on.
If you are interested in planning Whole Gujarati Thali Meal Menu, Click Here.
Gujarati Wedding Dal
Ingredients
To Boil:
- 1 cup toovar (arhar) dal
- ½ cup chopped yam (suran)
- 2 dry dates (kharek) (optional)
- ¼ cup finely chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp peanuts
For Tempering:
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp oil
- ¼ tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)
- ¼ tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
- 2 cloves (laung / lavang)
- 25 mm (1") piece cinnamon (dalchini)
- 1 bayleaf (tejpatta) if available
- 2 small red chillies (boriya mirch)
- ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing)
For Flavoring Dal:
- 4 to 5 kokum , soaked in water or 1/2 tsp paste
- 2 tbsp grated jaggery (gur)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 25 mm (1”) piece grated ginger (adrak)
- 2 slit green chillies , if desired
- ¼ tsp chilli powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash and soak the dal, add 2 cups of water, cut yam, dates, salt to taste in it and pressure cook for 6-8 whistles. I also steam tomato and peanut at the same by putting them on the lid of the inside pot.
- Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid.
- Cool slightly and blend dal mixture and tomato in a mixer or sieve to a smooth mixture. Keep aside. (I usually directly sieve through into the big tempering pot so less vessels to clean!)
- Heat the ghee and oil in a deep pan and add the mustard seeds.
- When the seeds crackle, add the fenugreek seeds, cloves, cinnamon, bayleaf, chillies and asafoetida, mix well and sauté on a medium flame for few seconds.
- Add 1½ cups of water, kokum, jaggery, ginger, green chillies(if desired), chilli powder and turmeric powder. Mix well.
- Add the dal, yam, peanuts, dates and salt(if needed to adjust the taste), mix well and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, while stirring continuously. Squeeze lemon juice before serving.
- Serve hot.
Notes
I noticed that in the wedding dal, Cumin seeds, Curry leaves and Coriander leaves are not added but if desired you can.
Watch me making the whole Thali Meal Menu in the following video.
