Brown Lentils aka Kaali Daal (Pakistani way)

Dal is one my favorite things to cook. In Pakistan, dal is a main dish and the sides for this hearty dish include steaming hot basmati rice, fresh off the stove phulka (light roti), tandoori naan and paapar (crispy crackers). The condiments include achaar, chutney and pickled onion salad.

Pakistani way of cooking this daal makes it creamy and goes very well with spicy BBQ meat.

Note: I soak my dry lentils for minimum of 2 hours.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of Brown Dal then soak it
1/3 cup chopped red onions
1 tsp garlic/ginger paste
1 tsp cayenne powder
2 tsp of salt
0.5 tsp turmeric powder

Tempering ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp cumin seeds
10 black peppercorns
3 garlic cloves

Method:

I used my instapot to cook the daal. I added daal, onions, cayenne, salt, turmeric, ginger/garlic paste and 3.5 cups of water. I used the pressure cook option for 15 mins and then let it rest for 5-7 mins before I pressurized the pot.

In a different pot I added butter and melted it on medium heat. Then browned sliced garlic in it, once they were golden I added cumin and black peppercorns fried those off for 30 seconds. Then added that in the cooked daal.

Mix it well and serve with the sides mentioned above.

Please let me know how it turns out.

Before soaking

After cooking :)

Comments

Haleem - Represents Pakistan's culture (Gluten free :))

Haleem: Threads of beef, a bite of lentils and oats and melody of spices with delicious garnishes. Haleem is a true representation of the subcontinent/Mughal heritage. It is a very well known dish in Lahore, Karachi (Pakistan) and Hyderabad (India). It has a beautiful golden, dull yellow color, its consistency is very similar to creamy dish of risotto. It’s made with aromatic and hot spices. It is served with crispy fried onions for texture, ginger, lemon juice to cut through the spiced creaminess. An original recipe of haleem requires 16-20 hours of cook time and if you have had that haleem you are one of the lucky ones. My mum used to start cooking it at night so we can have for lunch for the next day. She would brown the meats with garlic ginger and haleem spices like cloves, cardamom, cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper. Then she would add soaked lentils and wheat and lots of water in the big pot. She would put the heat on very low temperature, cover the pot and would s...

Chicken Karhai - Pakistani Cuisine

This recipe is originally my mums but I have made few changes here and there. This dish is one of the easiest yet flavoursome Pakistani dish of all times. You will find it in every restaurant made according to different areas. It basically is chicken that is stir fried with lots of spices, tomatoes and ginger. The authenticity comes from the various spices that are used. You can have it with Naan, Paratha, rice, pilaff, toast. The name comes from the pan the chicken is made in, Karhai, aka A Wok. Try and Enjoy and let me know how it came out. Ingredients: Chicken (800 gms - 1200 gms) Garlic 2 tbsp Cumin 1 tbsp Ground Coriander 1 tbsp Crushed red pepper 1/2 tbsp Turmeric 1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper 2 tsp Garam masala 1 tsp Salt 1 1/2 tsp levelled 8-10 roma tomatoes or equivalent Ginger julienne 2 tbsp Green chilli julienne 1 tbsp Cilantro chopped 2 tbsp Oil 4 tbsp Method: Heat the pan to medium high and add cumin to it. Roast the c...

A snack from Damascus.

I have had an amazing childhood. My dad was in the air force of Pakistan and because of that we moved to different cities and different countries a lot. My worldly experiences were amazing and always revolved around good food and beautiful people. This story is very dear to my heart. We moved to Damascus, Syria in 97’ from Pakistan. As a child growing up, I always heard stories from cousins who lived abroad, about how different Pakistan was from where they lived. The visuals in my head were grandeur and full of Magic. This probably also has to do with all the children movies we used to see i.e. Matilda, Aladdin, Baby Genius etc. My first thought when we landed at the Airport in Syria, my first thought was “that’s it”. Where are all the malls that people talk about in movies? Where are all the toy stores? I remember reading signs in Arabic, few in English. It was sunny and everything looked very desert like. It had the same...

Mehr in Winnipeg

Search This Blog