My mom's Gujarati dal recipe, I truly believe is the best! This Gujarati tuvar dal recipe is spicy, and tangy with a hint of sweetness. This khatti meethi dal, is the heart of every Gujarati household. At my home, we alternatively make dal, kadhi, dry sabzi, rotli and rice.
I grew up licking the bowl clean and having second helpings of this dal. I would look forward to eat my mom's Gujarati dal and rice for an after tuition snack, to hold me until dinner. It was almost like a routine!
This very famous khatti meethi Gujarati dal takes me back to my mom's kitchen every time I make it. It is one of those precious recipes that is very close to my heart and I have been cherishing it since I took my first bite. So, when I say that my mom's Gujarati Dal recipe is famous, it is loved by all the family and friends.
Also, people don't ever stop raving about my mom's Gujarati Dal. I know this funny story where my mom's friends ate the dal with dinner rolls because they were so much in love with it. They literally couldn't wait for the rice and rotis to be ready, which is why you must try this recipe.
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A Special Gujarati Recipe From my Mom's Kitchen
I spent hours talking to my mom, helping her while she was cooking in the kitchen growing up. It was my favorite place. Little did I know I am building pure joy for my future. The smell of the aromatics, my constant nibling questions about everything that mom does was like a fairytale. I miss her and can't wait to have her back when Baby V is here in March.
Whenever I make Gujarati Dal, my husband calls it sweet Sambar which is kinda funny and annoying at the same time. There are so many endless memories that are associated with this dal. But, now is the time to bring this sinful aroma of Gujarati Dal cooking in your kitchens and I hope you guys are excited about this as much as I am to share it.
How to Make This Gujarati Dal Step-by-Step?
Visit my IGTV on Instagram. Click the link below to watch the full step-by-step video to make this Gujarati Dal. Watching this video will help you get a better idea, so I highly recommend you to watch this video. So let's start by watching the recipe and going to the grocery store to fetch the ingredients. Don't worry, if you are Indian, you might as well have everything in your pantry.
Follow me on Instagram, to never miss a post from me, because you absolutely don't want to miss out on anything delicious happening in my kitchen.
Ingredients To Make This Gujarati Dal
Boiling the Dal (Lentils)
- ½ Cup Tuver Dal (Pigeon Pea Lentils)
- 1+½ - 2 Cups of Water
- Pinch of Turmeric
- Pinch of Salt
For the Masala (Spice Mix for Dal)
- 1 Juicy Tomato (shredded pulp, skin removed)
- 2 Tbsps Chopped Cilantro (1 tablespoon tightly packed chopped cilantro + 1 tablespoon for garnish)
- 2 Thai Green Chillies Finely Chopped
- 1 inch Ginger shredded
- 1 tablespoon Athana no Masalo (Pickle Masala)
- 1 + ½ Tsp's Red Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dhana Jeeru Powder (Cumin-Coriander Powder)
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
- 2+½ Tbsp's Jaggery
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Prepare the Tempering
- 1 tablespoon Peanut Oil/ any oil of your preference
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- pinch of asafetida
- 1 tablespoon Peanuts (Optional)
- 7-8 Curry Leaves
- 2 Green Chilies
- 3-4 Whole Red Chilies
- 1 Small Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2-3 Cloves
Steps to make Gujarati Dal
- Wash, Rinse, and Soak the Tuver dal for 10 minutes.
- Drain the water from the soaked dal and add it to the pressure cooker.
- We will add water, salt, and turmeric next. Cook it for 5 whistles.
- Let the pressure cooker cool down.
- Make the masala next.
- Cut the tomato into two halves.
- Start with shredding the tomato using the manual shredder. Dispose of the skin of the tomatoes.
- Lets add the extracted tomato pulp to a separate plate.
- Throw in the chopped cilantro, ginger, and green chilies to the tomato pulp.
- Next goes in Pickle Masala, Kashmiri Red Chili Powder, Turmeric Powder, Jaggery, and Dhanajeeru Powder (cumin, coriander powder)
- Give everything a thorough mix.
- Now once the pressure cooker cools down, open it and whisk the dal.
- Add the whisked dal to a heavy bottom pot. Add 2 Cups of Water and bring it to a boil.
- Then add the prepared masala. Mix it well.
- Once the dal is boiled well, make the tempering.
- For tempering, add oil to a pan.
- Let it heat up and add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
- Well now let's add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, and a pinch of asafetida. Let it splutter. Add curry leaves, green chilies, whole red chilies, cinnamon sticks, bay leaf, and cloves.
- Bring everything to a boil, and serve with hot rice topped with a dollop of ghee.
If you make this recipe, please don't forget to tag me on instagram, because my mom and I will be very happy to see your recreations and here your feedback! It makes all our efforts worth it.
Is Gujarati Dal Vegan?
This recipe for the dal is vegan. Some other recipes do use ghee for tempering, but I prefer using peanut oil. If you are reading this, you must definitely try this Gujarati Dal recipe. I swear you will be hooked.
Is this Dal Gluten-Free?
The recipe uses hing (asafetida). But, you can skip it or use gluten-free hing in the recipe. We just add a pinch of asafetida to this recipe to aid the yellow lentils in digestion, but feel free to skip it.
Gujarati Dal
These nutrional values are automatically generated. Use them for estimation only.
Ingredients
For Boiling the Dal
- ½ Cup Tuver Dal (Pigeon Pea Lentils)
- 1 + ½ Cup Water
- Pinch of Turmeric
- Pinch of Salt
For the Masala
- 1 Juicy Tomato Shredded Pulp and skin removed or 2.5 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 2 Tbsp Cilantro Roughly Chopped ( 1 tablespoon for the Masala ans 1 tablespoon for garnish)
- 2 Thai Green Chillies Finely Chopped
- 1 inch Ginger Shredded
- 1 Tbsp Athana no Masalo Pickle Masala or Methiya no Masalo
- 1 + ½ Tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder If your red chili powder is spicy use 1 Tsp
- 1 Tsp Cumin Coriander Powder (Dhanajeeru Powder)
- ¼ Tsp Turmeric
- 2+½ tablespoon Jaggery
- 1 Tsp Salt
For Tempering
- 1 tablespoon Peanut / Groundnut Oil Or any Oil of your prefrence
- 1 Tsp Mustard Seeds (Rai)
- 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds (Jeeru)
- ½ Tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Methi na Dana)
- Pinch of Asafetida (Hing)
- 1 tablespoon Peanuts Optional
- 7-8 Curry Leaves
- 2 Green Chillies Slit
- 3-4 Whole Red Chillies
- 1 Small Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2-3 Cloves
Instructions
Steps to make Gujarati Dal
- Wash, Rinse, and Soak the Tuver dal for 10 minutes.Drain the water from the soaked dal and add it to the pressure cooker.Add water, salt, and turmeric. Cook it for 5 whistles.Let the pressure cooker cool down.
- Make the masala next.
- Cut the tomato into two halves.Start with shredding the tomato using the manual shredder. Dispose of the skin of the tomatoes.Add the extracted tomato pulp to a separate plate or if you don't have a tomato, use 2.5 tablespoon lemon juice.
- Add chopped cilantro, ginger, and green chilies to the tomato pulp.
- Next goes in Pickle Masala, Kashmiri Red Chili Powder, Turmeric Powder, Jaggery, and Dhanajeeru Powder (cumin, coriander powder)Give everything a thorough mix.
- Now once the pressure cooker cools down, open it and whisk the dal.
- Add the whisked dal to a heavy bottom pot. Add 2 Cups of Water and bring it to a boil.
- Then add the prepared masala. Mix it well.
- Once the dal is boiled well, make the tempering.
- For tempering, add oil in a pan.Let it heat up and add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.Add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, and a pinch of asafetida. Let it splutter.Add curry leaves, green chilies, whole red chilies, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and cloves.Bring everything to a boil, and serve with hot rice topped with a dollop of ghee.
Notes
Nutrition
- Pumpkin Halwa (Kaddu Ka Halwa)
- Instant Kesar Mawa Modak
- Bateta Ni Chips Nu Shaak (Potato Chips Dry Curry)
- Papdi Chaat | Dahi Papri Chaat
- Aloo Tikki Chaat
Here are some more Gujarati Recipes that You May Like
There is an impression about Gujarati food that it is very sweet, but in reality, it is a concoction of a lot of beautiful flavors. You just need to find the right recipe. Try my Gujarati Recipes, and you will know how flavorful Gujarati food actually is.
Papdi Khichu Recipe| Khichu Recipe | Papdi no Lot(Opens in a new browser tab)
Dal Palak - Red Lentils with Spinach(Opens in a new browser tab)
Chana Bateta - Black Chickpeas and Potato Curry - A Family Recipe(Opens in a new browser tab)
Bhaat na Muthiya | Gujarati Bhaat na Muthiya Recipe(Opens in a new browser tab)
Tanaz Mehta
I cooked your Gujarati Dal today and it turned fantastic. The recipe was just too tasty and all at home enjoyed it. Thank you and do convey my gratefulness and regards to your mum.
Aayushi Patel
Thank you Tanaz! Very glad you like the recipe!
Anonymous
I love your recipe of Gujarati dal, it turns out delicious every time. Thank you for sharing ?
Aayushi Patel
So glad you like the recipe!!