Gujarati Daal

Photo: Sanjana Modha

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups oily split pigeon peas (toor or tuver daal)

6 cups water

2 green chillies, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

2 tablespoons tomato puree

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)

2 tablespoons lemon juice (or to taste)

salt to taste

To Temper:

1 1/2 tablespoons ghee or oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon asafoetida

6 curry leaves

10 peanuts

10 cashew nuts

2 star anise

3 cloves

1 stick cinnamon

Preparation

Pressure cook the split pigeon peas with 6 cups of water until liquid. Sieve the mixture into a large bowl.

Mix in the chillies, ginger, tomato puree, turmeric, sugar, lemon juice and salt.

Heat the ghee or oil in a wide pan and add the mustard seeds (wait for them to pop!) Add the cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, peanuts, cashew nuts, star anise, cloves and cinnamon.

Add the daal mixture and boil for ten to fifteen minutes, Taste (remember to find a perfect balance of hot, sweet and sour); if you need to add any more chilli, sugar or lemon then do so according to your taste.

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About

The beauty of Gujarati daal is that it is thinner and therefore lighter than your usual daal, yet also packed full of flavour. It is super important that the daal is hot, sweet and sour (almost in the same way that Thai food is… which perhaps explains my borderline-obsessive love of the Thai cuisine). As you make this daal, please bear the hot, sweet and sour rule in mind and add chilli, sugar and lemon accordingly and as required. I’ve done my best in recording my measurements of these ingredients here.

Serve with a delicious bowl full of hot basmati rice!