Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Panchratan / Panchmel Dal

The afternoon rain left me craving for something that was wholesome and comforting. I always associate cold weather with Kadhi, Pakoras and this Panchratan / Panchmel dal. Made with 5 dals and a generous use of tomatoes, this Dal is nutritious and very, very comforting. I generally have this by itself, without any Rice or Roti. This is my contribution for the JFI:Tomato event over at RP's Workshop.

1/4 cup Split Urad dal
1/4 cup Chana Dal
1/4 cup Sabut (Whole) Masoor Dal
1/4 cup Split Moong Dal
1/4 cup Tur / Arhar Dal
3 medium tomatoes, chopped (I used 2 handfuls of grape tomatoes, cut into half)
2 cloves
1/2" dalchini (cinnamon)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2" ginger, grated
6-7 curry leaves
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
Chopped coriander to garnish (Optional)
Salt to taste
Oil
Clean and wash all the dals. In a pressure cooker, add the dals, 3 cups of water, turmeric powder, a few drops of oil and cook till the dals are cooked. Remove from heat and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick. When the seeds begin to sizzle, add the grated ginger, green chillies and curry leaves.Cook for abut a minute and then add the tomatoes and Salt. Mix well and cook till the tomatoes are mushy and cooked. Add the Dal to this tomato tadka, mix well and on low heat let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot. Enjoy !

15 comments:

FH said...

Looks delicious Sangeeta.Spicy and yummy dal.Great entry for JFI.

Manjula said...

Never knew that urad dal can be used to make dals!! As a south Indian, urad dal meant only idli dosas for me.
Just bought some whole urad with chilka to try out these wonderful recipes. Can I use whole urad instead of split ones here?

Sangeeta said...

@ Asha, Thanks :)

@ Manjula, Yes you can use whole Urad Dal too. Let me know how it tasted :)

TNL said...

Hi Sangeeta, nice to see your posts after a while...this daal looks great, I love the taste of Urad daal with onions, it's so earthy..love it...thanks for your version.

Anonymous said...

Dear Sangeetha, totally agree with you that dals come in the comfort foods category. The recipe sounds good. You are right in saying that this can be had without the rice and tastes great with lemon squeezed in it.

Bong Mom said...

This looks really very good, the next week dal is going to be this

Suma Gandlur said...

Looks delicious & nutritious. As manjula said, we never made any dals using chana or urad dals. I must try this soon.

Richa said...

love this dal, yummy!
your version sounds so good, will try without onion this time.
is this version a speciality of your region?

thanks

Sharmi said...

Hi Sangeeta, I have never tried Dals with so many combination of dals. I usually use only one variety. This one looks very delicious and yummy to me. will try it for sure and nice entry.

cheers
sharmi

Sangeeta said...

@ Trupti, :) Thanks

@Pritya, try this dal. The lemon juice just adds to the whole flavor

@ Sandeepa, :)

@ Suma, let me know how you liked it

@ Richa, Let me know how it tastes without the onion :)

@Sharmi, Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

sangeeta,
Is not this dal a Guju dish, typical to the panchmahal region? Neer had it before, though i have seen recipes. Thanks and great entry!

Sangeeta said...

@ Hema, Thanks for dropping by :)Don't know if this dal is from the Panchmahal region. Back home, we called it Panchmel, since we use 5 dals for this. Everyday I learn something new. Thanks for this info :)

Anonymous said...

Sangeeta, The recipe sounds different and good entry for JFI.

Suganya said...

hi,
First time to ur bolg...... Ur panchratan is nice and different..........

Unknown said...

Tried this one,it was very tasty!!Thanks!!