Split Urad Dal Recipe/ Split Black Gram Lentils Soup
Urad Dal or Black Gram lentils are normally used in the famous punjabi cuisine Dal Makhani. However in my version of dal makhani on this blog, I have taken whole red lentils (sabut masoor dal) instead of black grams (urad dal).
This urad dal is made from split black gram. Well whole black urad lentil take longer to get cooked than other lentils or dal. If you are planning to make something from whole urad dal, then you need to soak it over night. But this split urad dal is softer than whole ones and we can soak them for 2 hours to reduce cooking time. Also these black lentils tastes better when cooked like regular curry, i.e these are cooked with aromatic whole spices to enhance the taste and flavor.
Lentils are rich source of protein and gives us major portion of our required nutrition. For kids, we should include dal in their daily diet. I do make different types of dal at home. My kid doesn’t like dal. So I make dal paratha for him. These are high source of protein, fiber and many other essential nutrients. So we can not skip them from your meal for a healthy diet.
So lets make this easy urad dal in less than 30 minutes time span. To fasten the cooking process follow my ready to use curry paste. this will save almost 15 minutes of your cooking time. I follow this method to save time. You can anyways prepare the curry paste during your free time and store for 10 days in refrigerator. I call this as smart cooking.
Split Urad Dal Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup black gram
- 1 onion
- 1 tomato
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 green chillies
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves
- 2 cardamom
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Wash & soak dal for 1 hour. Then add in pressure cooker with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and salt. Add salt as per taste. Also some salt will be added to the curry paste. Hence add accordingly.
- Cook for 5 - 6 whistles. Then remove from heat & let it cool and open the lid of cooker. Strain out the lentils but don't discard that water. That will be used in following process.
- Make a mixture of onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and green chillies into a smooth paste.
- Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan. once oil is hot add bay leaf, cloves, crushed cardamom and cumin seeds. Then add 1 crushed garlic and saute.
- The spices will be aromatic in 30 seconds time. Then add the pureed onion and tomato. Saute for 5 minutes till they are cooked completely and leaves pan.
- once its cooked add boiled dal to the pan and mix well. Add the dal stock to the pan and mix well. Add salt if required.
- Simmer for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 tsp garam masala (optional) and chopped coriander leaves.
If you like lentils/ dal, read similar recipes on blog like sabut masoor dal, dal palak, methi dal, daalma, dhuli urad dal, hara moong dal, Lahsooni Dal, Lauki chana dal, moong masoor dal.
