Dal has two great things going for it -- made from lentils, it's amazingly nourishing, nutritious. Secondly, can healthy food be any tastier? Equally wonderful is the number of ways and the range of lentils used in India to prepare a daily dal, with variations abounding from home to home across the India stretching above the Vindhyas.
Fans of Dal Bati, here is another chatpata Rajasthani combo with a different flavour of dal to sample, that's traditional 100 per cent! Jayanti Soni makes Panchmel Dal that is a combination of five lentils as its name suggests, and twenty other ingredients! It is served mostly with crispy baafle, and at times with chapattis.
Please find the recipe here: Panchmel Dal
As trees across India become heavily laden with unripened mangoes, in Bengal folks start dreaming of Tok Dal. Swarupa Dutt, while making it, adds boiled masoor & ginger to sauteed mango & chillies. It is had with any of the special Bong accompaniments -- fried fish, bhindi, alu, boiled eggs. "The dal-bhat-alu sheddo combination is a humble, easy to cook, quick meal but pure gold for the palate," she promises.
Please find the recipe here: Tok Dal
One of the thousands of variations of dal -- which is the traditional core of every humble desi meal -- is lentils cooked with super-healthy moringa leaves. Bethica Das offers a spicy, tangy version.
Please find the recipe here: Dal With Moringa Leaves
Deepa Mehrotra and her husband Ashish believe serving food pleasingly adds extra flavour to a meal. After all, they feel, one "eats with the eyes." The couple takes a delicious and simple comfort meal like dal-bhaat and elevates it to a gourmet offering with plating technique and a few surprise ingredients.
Please find the recipe here: Gourmet Dal-Chaval
A wholesome one-pot delight, the lentils and vegetables come together in a lightly spiced, flavourful gravy in this Odia speciality, presented by Shristi Sahoo. Advertising the goodness of dal, potatoes, pumpkin and raw bananas, the vegetables and split lentils are gently simmered with mustard seeds, garlic, a hint of turmeric for a rustic, earthy taste.
Please find the recipe here: Odia's Dalma
A tasty dhaba-style dal by Chef Varun Inamdar that will add chatpata to your week. It has a tadka of basic ingredients like jeera, rai, dried red chillies, curry leaves, onions, while onions, garam masala and green chillies add flavour to its body. The surprise ingredient is walnuts.
Please find the recipe here: Teekhi Dal Tadka With Walnuts
Rich, creamy, and multi-flavoureds, this dal is at the heart of Punjabi cuisine. Swayampurna Mishra makes use of black lentils, kidney beans and chana dal and boils it together till it gains a velvety texture. It is then infused with butter, aromatic spices and fresh cream.
Please find the recipe here: Dal Makhani
Pratibha Karan offers a dal from Sindh province, now a part of Pakistan, but eaten by Sindhis all over. No ordinary dal, it features gypsy beans, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, radish, okra, cauliflower and onions.
Please find the recipe here: Sindhi Dal Curry
Here's the dal that made Muradabad, UP, famous, or vice versa. Follow Taruna Deepak's recipe and turn yellow mung into a filling and very tasty dish with chaat flavours. Unusual components: Potatoes, carom seeds (ajwain), kala namak (black salt).
Please find the recipe here: Dal Muradabadi
A perfect blend of health and taste, Jayanti Soni has another dal up her sleeve. It's a comforting north Indian dish, where bottle gourd (lauki) and protein-rich chana dal woo each other in a mildly spiced, aromatic gravy.
Please find the recipe here: Lauki Chana Dal
Pratibha Karan this time popularises a dal from across the Palk Strait, all the way from Sri Lanka, which is a little bit less of a sambar and more of a dal. Delicious and unusual, coconut milk goes into it and so does curry powder.
Please find the recipe here: Sri Lankan Parippu Hodi
She Wrote A Book Of Dals
Foodies, these pics will tempt you