Lasooni Dal To Delight All

Thursday, September 13, 2012, 15:36 [IST]

Lasooni dal is a special dal recipe that has many versions. Every version of this dal recipe is local; it changes from place to place. For example, in Mumbai Dal Lasooni is just plain toor dal garnished with minced garlic. But if you go up North in India, this vegetarian side is cooked with onions, tomatoes and cumin seeds. If you go to the coastal regions, grated coconut is added to dal lasooni. We will be talking about the North-Indian version of this dal recipe here.

Lasooni dal is cooked with three different types of dal in Northern India. The aromatic flavour given by garlic makes this minced dal a meal in itself. The best part is, you can cook it pretty quickly in a pressure cooker.

Serves: 6

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Toor dal- 1/2 cup
Masoor dal- 1/2 cup
Moong Dal- 1/2 cup
Hing or Asfoetida- 1/2tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2tsp
Green chillies- 2+2
Cumin seeds- 1tsp
Dry red chillies- 2
Onion- 1 (chopped finely)
Tomato- 1 (chopped finely)
Garlic pods- 12 (minced)
Garam masla- 1/2tsp
Oil- 1tbsp
Ghee- 1tbsp
Salt- as per taste

Procedure

1. Wash the 3 types of dal and soak them in water for 15 minutes.

2. Transfer the dals to a pressure cooker. Add 3 cups of water, salt, 2 green chillies slit from the middle and turmeric.

3. Cook the dal in pressure cooker for the duration of 2 whistles. You can also allow it to steam for 10 minutes on low flame.

4. After the dal gets cooked, open the pressure cooker lid and add the minced garlic along with some raw oil to it. Close the lid and let it stand for 5 minutes.

5. Meanwhile heat ghee in a deep bottomed pan. When it melts and steams, season it with hing, dry red chillies and cumin seeds.

6. Then add 2 chopped green chillies and onions. Saute on high flame for 2 minutes until the onions turn brown.

7. Then add the tomatoes and sprinkle a little salt to melt them. Cook for 1 minute. Then pour the cooked dal into the pan.

8. Add a little water if necessary and season with a pinch of garam masala.

You can have dal lasooni with hot roties or rice.