I’ve been slacking again, and honestly, nothing particularly inspiring had come along for a while. I tried a few dishes here and there over the past few weeks, but nothing that really felt worth writing about. You may have noticed that I’ve had the Indian Cooking Challenge badge on this blog for months now. I’ve been following Srivalli’s challenges faithfully, but for one reason or another, I never quite got around to actually cooking any of them. At this point, I’m clearly running out of excuses.

That said, when I recently browsed through some of the older challenges, one dish immediately caught my attention. I have a definite weakness for Gujarati food, and that alone was enough motivation to finally get started. I’m about a month late, so I won’t be submitting this post for the challenge, but I did try the recipe, and that counts for something.

This Gujarati Dal recipe is adapted from Sukham Ayu by Jigyasa Giri and Pratibha Jain, and it turned out to be a comforting, gently spiced dal with subtle sweetness and tang.

Ingredients

  • Split red gram (toor dal) – 1/2 cup
  • Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Dry soft kokam – 4 to 5 pieces
  • Hard dry dates (optional) – 4, halved
  • Drumstick – 4 to 5 pieces, cut into 2-inch lengths
  • Groundnuts – 1 tbsp
  • Green chilies – 2, slit
  • Ginger – 1-inch piece, finely chopped
  • Coriander powder – 2 tsp
  • Cumin powder – 1 tsp
  • Garam masala – 1/4 tsp
  • Powdered rock salt – to taste
  • Fresh coriander leaves – for garnish

For the Tempering

  • Butter or ghee – 2 tsp
  • Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp
  • Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • Dry red chilies – 2
  • Asafoetida powder – 1/4 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 5 to 6

Method

  1. Wash and soak the toor dal for about 30 minutes. Pressure-cook it in 2 cups of water along with the turmeric powder until soft. Churn or whisk well to break down the dal.
  2. Transfer the cooked dal to a thick-bottomed pan. Add all the ingredients except the garam masala, fresh coriander leaves, and tempering. Add 1 cup of water and allow the dal to simmer on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. In a separate wok or small pan, heat the ghee for tempering. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Add the fenugreek seeds and reduce the heat slightly. Once the fenugreek begins to brown, add the cumin seeds, dry red chilies, asafoetida, and curry leaves.
  4. Pour the tempering into the simmering dal. Let it boil for another 5 minutes.
  5. Switch off the heat and garnish with garam masala and freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with plain rice or chapathis.

Notes

I skipped the jaggery in this recipe and used only the dates for sweetness. This dal naturally has a sweet profile, so if you prefer less sweetness or don’t care for the sweet-tangy balance, you can skip the dates altogether.

A gentle, flavorful dal that’s perfect when you’re in the mood for classic Gujarati comfort food.