Toovar/arhar (split pigeon pea) dal

• Servings: 2-3
• Preparation time: 5 minutes.
• Frying time: 6-7 minutes.
• Cooking time: 12  minutes.
• seasoning time: 5 minutes.
• Total time: 29 minutes.

Preparation of this dal takes little more time to cook. But try this, taste is amazing and delicious.

Toovar dal, also known as arhar dal or pigeon pea lentils, is a staple in Indian cuisine. This dal is a versatile and comforting dish, often cooked with a variety of spices, making it a perfect accompaniment to both Rice and Indian flatbreads like Roti or Naan.

Toovar dal is not only delicious but also packed with protein, making it an essential part of a balanced vegetarian diet, each region adding its unique twist, whether it’s the tangy addition of tamarind in South India, the sweetness of jaggery in Gujarat, or the simple yet flavourful tempering of cumin and mustard seeds in North Indian kitchens.

Ingredients:

• Toovar dal: 100 gm
• Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
• Cumin seed: half teaspoon
•  red chilli: 2 no.
• Salt: half teaspoon (as per taste).
• Onion: 1 no. (Small)
• Tomato: 2 no. (Small)
• Curry leaves: 10 no.
• Ginger: 1”piece
• Garlic: 2-3 flakes
• Ghee: 2 tablespoon
• Water: 500 ml

Preparation:

1. Chop ginger, garlic and onion into small pieces. Keep aside.
2. Roughly chop tomato, put into mixer jar; grind the tomato  to make paste, keep aside.

Method:

1. Take a pressure cooker, put 1 tablespoon of ghee; add cumin seed, sputter for few seconds, add toovar dal and  stir fry on medium flame, the moment some of dal begins to change colour to light brown (3-5 minutes), lower the flame; add water and turmeric powder.
2. Close the lid of pressure cooker. Cook on high flame; bring to full cooking pressure, reduce to low flame and cook for 8-10 minutes.
3. Let it be cool and open; pulverize the dal with hand blender and keep aside.

Seasoning:

1. Take a small fry pan put 1 tablespoon of ghee; add cumin seed, and red chilli, sputter for few seconds.
2. Add chopped onion, curry leaves, garlic and ginger;  stir fry  on low flame for 2-3 minutes, add ground tomatoes, continue to fry  for couple of minutes  or until tomato dries up.
3. Add chilli powder and salt, fry few seconds; add boiled dal and, let dal boil for couple of minutes.
4. Put off the flame, serve hot with rice or chapati

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Toovar/arhar (split pigeon pea) dal by Nag Ratna Sahu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.