Urad Dal (Black Dal)

This Urad dal is delicious, flavor-packed and easy to make. Black dal is simmered with plenty of aromatics and a handful of spices, to create a nutritious and wholesome dish. It is a popular food from the Punjabi Cuisine and is known as Kali dal or Maa ki dal. If you love experimenting with different kinds of lentils, this Urad Dal recipe is a must try.

It is gluten-free and can be made vegan, if you cook in oil. This thick and creamy dal is best served hot with flatbreads like roti, naan, tandoori roti, plain kulcha or with basmati rice.

About Black Dal

Though this looks similar to Dal Makhani, it tastes much different and is actually low fat without compromising on the flavor and taste. This recipe does not use butter or cream and traditionally it is cooked in ghee. If you eat only plant based, you may use oil.

There are different ways to make this dish. The version I am sharing here is named as Maa choliyan dal, meaning it uses urad dal (maa) and chana dal (choliyan). Bengal gram aka chana dal are the skinned split lentils, derived from the desi chickpeas. They contribute a unique flavor and texture to the finished dish.

Urad dal has a natural slimy texture even after cooking. However that goes unnoticed in dishes like makhani dal due to the addition of cream. Using chana dal in this recipe is crucial to cut down the slimy texture of urad because we don’t use any cream here. I prefer to use these lentils in equal amounts. But if you want you may use only black dal or alter the ratios (like 2:1) but that yields a different result.

I use a instant pot to make this but including the instructions for a Indian stovetop pressure cooker. If you do not have a cooker, you may cook the lentils in a pot following my expert tips section below.

Preparation

The process of making this dish starts by rinsing and soaking the lentils overnight or for a minimum of 7 to 8 hours. This helps them cook faster, cuts down the phytic acid in the lentils and is easier for digestion. You will add 1 cup urad dal and half cup chana dal to a large bowl, rinse them well, rubbing with your hands. Rinse at least 4 to 5 times and soak them in plenty of water.

It is normal for the black dal to lose some of the black color and begin to look brown, dark green etc. Rinsing them well before and after soaking prevents the dish from turning too dark.

Photo Guide

Step by Step Instructions

Preparation

1. When you are ready to cook, prep up the following:

• ¾ cup onions chopped from 1 medium
• 1 green chili chopped, more if you want or omit for low heat
• ¾ tablespoon ginger (peeled and minced from 1 inch ginger root)
• ¾ tablespoon garlic (peeled and minced from 3 large garlic cloves)
• 1¼ cup tomatoes (deseed & chop 3 medium tomatoes, or ⅔ cup store bought tomato puree/ passata)
• ⅓ to ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to your preference)
• ½ teaspoon garam masala 
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt (more to adjust later)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons oil or ghee 
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds + 1 inch cinnamon piece + 1 black cardamom+ 1 Indian bay leaf

2. Pour oil or ghee to a hot pressure cooker and add cumin seeds, cinnamon and black cardamom.

3. When the seeds begin to sizzle, add onions and saute for 5 mins, until light golden.

4. Add ginger, garlic and green chili. Saute for 2 mins.

5. Stir in turmeric, salt, red chili powder and garam masala.

6. Add the tomatoes and saute for a minute or 2.

7. You don’t really need to cook down the tomatoes here because we are going to cook the lentils for longer and the tomatoes will eventually become soft.

8. Add the dal and pour 3 cups (720 ml) water.

Pressure cooking

9. Mix well and close the pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 8 whistles on a medium heat. or If using instant pot, pressure cook for 35 mins. Let the pressure drop naturally.

10. Open the lid and mash the lentils with a masher. When you open the lid, there will be still plenty of liquid in the cooker, but it will be absorbed when you mash the lentils. You want nearly half (or ⅓) of the lentils to be broken down/mashed.

11. Pour 1 cup hot water in 2 batches and simmer for 25 mins until really thick, aromatic and creamy. Simmering well at this stage makes it more tasty and cuts down the slimy texture.

12. Taste test and add more salt to your taste. Finish the dish with a sprinkle of garam masala if you want, ¾ tablespoon kasuri methi (optional, dried fenugreek leaves), 1 tablespoon ghee and 2 to 3 tablespoons coriander leaves (chopped).

13. Usually cream is not added to maa ki dal, but it does take the dish to the next level. I have not used it here. But we have tested this many times with 1/4 cup heavy cream & cashew cream. It makes the dish rich. I think malai or coconut cream works the same way.

Urad dal develops a darker color as it sits like seen in the next picture. Serve it hot with basmati rice or naan, plain parathas, Tandoori roti or kulcha.

Expert Tips

• No Pressure Cooker ? To cook this dish without a pressure cooker, bring 3 cups water to a rolling boil and cook on a medium heat uncovered for 50 mins. Keep adding more hot water as you cook. Make the tempering separately in a pan and add the lentils to the tempering and simmer for 25 mins.
• For a deep/ bright brown color, use store bought passata or tomato paste. Else your dish will turn dark as it sits/ cools down.
• Rinsing the lentils very well is important else the color of your dish is going to be dark.
• Black dal turns very dark after freezing or refrigerating. I usually store the leftovers and reheat until bubbling hot. Lastly stir in a little heavy cream/ cashew cream to lighten up.

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