Authentic Panchmel Dal Recipe

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A proper Indian meal is never complete without having dal. Needless to say that dal is an integral dish of the Indian cuisine. However, sometimes we do get bored of having the same dal again and again. That is why, there is a wide variety of dal recipes in all Indian cuisines. What we are making today is a dal from Rajasthan. It is called Panchmel dal. This dal recipe is a specialty of Rajasthan and was traditionally cooked on wood fire.

As the name Panchmel dal suggests, this dal recipe is prepared with 5 different kinds of dals. True to the style of an Indian recipe, it also has a fair amount of spices. However, the main flavour of Panchmel dal comes from the mixture of 5 dals and not the spices. Garam masala, hing and dry red chillies are used to make Panchmel dal just like any typical Indian recipe.

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• Toor dal- 2tbsp
• Chana dal- 2tbsp
• Urad dal- 2tbsp
• Masoor dal- 2tbsp
• Moong dal- 2tbsp
• Cloves- 2
• Cardamom- 2
• Dry red chilli- 3 (broken)
• Green chillies- 2 (chopped)
• Ginger- 1/2 inch (grated)
• Turmeric powder- 1 pinch
• Cumin seeds- 1tsp
• Asafoetida or hing- 1 pinch
• Tomato- 1 (finely chopped)
• Ghee- 2tbsp
• Salt- as per taste

Procedure

1. Soak all the 5 dals in water for 30 minutes. Then add 2 cups of water, salt and turmeric to the dal.
2. Pressure cook it for the duration of 3 whistles on a medium flame.
3. Heat ghee in a deep bottomed pan. When it gets warm, add the dry red chillies, hing and cumin seeds.
4. After 30 seconds, add the green chillies, cardamom, cloves and ginger. Heat the spices for 30 seconds on medium flame.
5. Then add the tomatoes to the pan and sprinkle little salt. Cook for 2 minutes.
6. Pour the pressure cooked dal into the pan and mix it up with the seasoning. Let the mixed dal bubble for 2-3 minutes.
7. Pour some more ghee and chopped coriander leaves from the top.

You can have Panchmel dal with bajra roti or jeera rice.