Arhar dal, is also known as Tuvar dal in certain parts of India and is commonly known around the world as split pigeon peas or yellow split peas. Pigeon peas contain high levels of protein and important amino acids like methionine, lysine, and tryptophan. It makes its way into various preparations such as puran polis, sambar, dal fry, dosas- to name a few.
This delicious dish has become an integral part of a common man’s healthy diet plan. Before I take you through the recipe, here is a short note on why you should include this lentil in your diet.
See More: Dal Tadka Recipe
Health Benefits of Arhar Dal:
Despite being a simple and humble lentil, it comes with loads of goodness that makes it ideal to be included in all types of diet.
- Good source of folic acid.
- Rich with minerals such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, and iron.
- Good source of B vitamins.
- Abundance of protein.
- Rich in dietary fiber.
- Important amino acids like methionine, lysine, and tryptophan.
- Zero cholesterol.
- Low levels of saturated fats.
A single serving of Tuvar dal gives you about 194 calories and provides you with 38% of your daily recommended dietary fiber. So, how to cook Arhar dal? Here is a simple and easy to follow recipe that anyone could try:
Preparation time: 30 minutes.
Cooking time: 30 minutes.
Serves: 4
See More: How To Make Masoor Dal
Ingredients:
- Arhar dal – 1 cup.
- Onion – 1 ,medium, finely chopped.
- Garlic – 6 cloves, finely minced.
- Ginger – 2 inch piece, finely grated.
- Green chilies – 2, split lengthwise.
- Cumin seeds – 1.5 tsp.
- Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp.
- Hing – a generous pinch.
- Salt – to taste.
- Curry leaves – 1 sprig.
- Coriander leaves – 2 tsp, finely chopped.
- Ghee/Clarified butter – 1 tbsp.
- Water – 2 cups.
How to Prepare Arhar Dal:
- Wash the dal thoroughly two to three times in running water.
- Soak the dal in 2 cups of clean cool water for about 30 minutes.
- As the dal soaks, chop onions, garlic, and ginger. Slit green chilies and keep aside.
- Chop coriander leaves, wash, and keep aside.
- Wash curry leaves and keep aside.
- Sprinkle turmeric powder on the soaked dal and pressure cook for about 4 to 5 whistles.
- Wait until the pressure completely subsides.
- Take out the cooked dal, mash well, and keep aside.
- Keep a deep-frying pan on medium heat.
- Add clarified butter, leaving ½ a teaspoon behind, to the pan and allow to turn hot.
- Add cumin seeds.
- As cumin seeds splutter, add chopped garlic, ginger, and slit green chilies.
- Fry until ginger and garlic turns slightly brown.
- Add onions and fry until it turns golden brown.
- Add mashed dal and necessary salt.
- Add water, if required, and allow dal to come to boil.
- As dal starts boiling, lower the flame, and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add hing and curry leaves and boil for about 1 minute.
- Add coriander leaves, rest of the clarified butter, and switch off the flame.
Serve hot with steamed rice or phulkas. How to make arhar dal is now as easy as, how to eat them!
Note: This is just a general way of making Arhar dal. The Arhar dal recipe varies with each household and can be altered depending on the person’s taste.
See More: How To Make Chana Dal
Tips:
- Take 2 tomatoes, wash them and finely chop them. Add the chopped tomatoes after the onions turn golden brown and cook until they turn mushy. Now, add dal and follow the rest of the steps.
- For a lemon flavored dal, you can squeeze in fresh lemon juice just before you serve the dal.
- You can also make the dal a spicy deal by adding red chili powder.
- You can give it a masala twist by adding about 1 teaspoon of garam masala just before adding curry leaves.
- Add about ½ tbsp kasuri methi leaves for a fragrant dal.
- You can add fenugreek, mustard, or even drumstick leaves to the dal for added nutrition.
- The basic Arhar dal recipe is a quite simple one. And, as I said, it varies with person. This is how I make it. What is your way of preparing Tuvar dal?
The basic arhar dal recipe is quite a simple one. And, as I said, it varies with the person. This is how I make it. What is your way of preparing tuvar dal? Share your views.
Arhar Dal- South Indian Style:
The south Indian style of making Arhar dal involves the use of Toor dal(moong dal) along with other ingredients-just like the ones used to make Arhar dal generally. Toor dal is a mild medium sized yellow lentil which is used abundantly in south Indian dal dishes. Another notable ingredient used in south Indian dal recipes are the curry leaves (generally known as the Sweet Neem Leaves) which provides that unique south Indian tangy flavour to the recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup split Toor dal, preferably soaked overnight in water.
- 5 cups of water.
- 2 tomatoes, finely chopped.
- 1 or 2 small green chillies, stemmed and cut in half.
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric.
- 3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, ghee, or lard.
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds.
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds.
- Pinch of asafoetida.
- 1 to 3 dried red chillies, crumbled.
- Handful of fresh curry leaves.
- 4 unpeeled garlic cloves, crushed and chopped.
- 1 medium red onion, chopped.
- 1 teaspoon sea salt.
- Ghee/Clarified butter – 1 tbsp.
Simple Toor dal recipe: South Indian Style:
- Take a saucepan and place it over medium heat.
- Now add the soaked dal, water, tomatoes, green chillies and turmeric.
- Cook them until the dal becomes soft and smooth.
- Now take another sauce pan and pour a little amount of oil in it and heat it gently.
- Add cumin seeds , mustard seeds, asafetida, dried red chilies and cook for about 2 minutes while stirring constantly until they acquire a slight brownish colour.
- Now add the curry leaves, garlic and red onion into the mixture and cook them until they become soft and crisp.
- Now pour the contents of this saucepan to the one in which the dal was being cooked and add some salt and ghee/clarified butter and cook them for about 5 minutes.
Serve hot with steamed rice or Rotis.
Arhar Dal- Bengali Style:
Arhar Dal or Toor Dal as it is most commonly known in certain parts of India has been one of India’s staple foods. This simple recipe that I am going to share with you guys forms an integral part of every Indian cuisine. The unique thing about this recipe is that the usage of this lentil provides a fixed amount of protein along with other nutrients making it a cheap and healthy option for everyone. The process of preparation of Arhar Dal varies with each household and i am presenting to you the Bengali way of making Arhar Dal/ Toor Dal.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Arhar Dal/Toor Dal/Split Pigeon Pea Dal
- 1 cup of Water
- 1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 2 tbsp Mustard Oil/Sunflower Oil
- 2 Green Chillies
- 1 Onion Large-Finely Chopped
- A pinch of Hing or Asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- Salt To Taste
- 4 Cloves of Garlic
- 2 Tomatoes Finely Chopped
- 1 tbsp Curry Leaves
How to Prepare Arhar Dal- Bengali Style:
- Take the Dal and rinse it and soak it in water for about 1 hour.
- Take a pressure cooker and put the soaked Dal, pour some water, turmeric powder and some salt and cook them until you hear about 4-5 whistles.
- Now take a saucepan and add a little oil and allow it to boil.
- Now add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves, bay leaf, dry red chilly and hing / asafetida and sauté them for some time until the oil gets aromatic and then add the chopped onions to them.
- Sprinkle some salt over them and add the garlic paste and finely chopped tomatoes until the mixture becomes tangy.
- Now add the cooked Dal into this mixture along with all its water and cook them until it the Dal attains the desired proportion.
Arhar Dal- Punjabi Style:
The Punjabi Style of making Arhar Dal is combined with a generous use of ghee/ clarified butter along with bold flavours and masala. So, it is not so healthy but I should confess that it is very tasty and can be served with rotis, chapattis and phulkas. The unique thing about making this simple Arhar Dal recipe in the Punjabi way is that here the pressure cooked Dal is first mixed with sautéed ginger, green chilli and onion and the ghee tempered garlic and spices are poured over it only at the time of serving.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup Arhar Dal/Toor Dal/Masoor Dal
- 1 cupof Water
- 1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 2 tbsp Mustard Oil/Sunflower Oil
- 2 Green Chillies
- 1 Onion Large-Finely Chopped
- A pinch of Hing or Asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- Salt To Taste
- 4 Cloves of Garlic
- 2 Tomatoes Finely Chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
How To Prepare Arhar Dal- Punjabi Style:
- Take the Dal and rinse it and soak it in water for about 1 hour.
- Take a pressure cooker and put the soaked Dal, pour some water, turmeric powder and some salt and cook them until you hear about 4-5 whistles.
- Now take a saucepan and add a little amount of ghee/ clarified butter and allow it to boil.
- Now add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves, bay leaf, dry red chilly and hing / asafetida and sauté them for some time until the oil gets aromatic and then add the chopped onions to them.
- Cook tomatoes for about 2 minutes until they softens. Then add kashmiri red chili powder (lal mirch) and coriander powder (dhaniya powder). Mix the dry spices with onion and tomato and cook them for a minute.
- Now add the cooked Dal into this mixture along with all its water and cook them until it the Dal attains the desired proportions.
- Finally add the freshly chopped coriander leaves and stir them well to obtain a tasty Punjabi Arhar Dal.
Arhar Dal- Gujarati way:
The Guajarati cuisine seems incomplete without a bowl of khatti meethi Dal. This healthy yet simple to make lentil is the staple food of every Guajarati household. With a characteristic sweet and sour taste, this traditional Dal recipe is quite reflective of Guajarati culture and uses the typical ingredients and spices. Sweet and tangy Toor Dal made in Gujarati style is rich in potatoes and peanuts. This simple recipe is tampered with loads of masalas and tomatoes for a mouth watering result. The successfulness and uniqueness of this recipe depends on the ideal balance between the sweet and sour levels which can be perfected by following this method.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Arhar Dal.
- 1/2 cup choppedyam.
- 2 tbsp peanuts, 2 dry dates.
- 1 tbsp ghee and 1 tbsp oil.
- 1/4 tsp mustardseeds and cumin seeds.
- 1/4 tsp fenugreekseeds.
- 6 to 7 curry leaves.
- 2 clovesand a very small amount of cinnamon.
- 1 bay leaf, 2 small roundred chillies.
- 1/4 tsp asafetida.
- 4 to 5 kokum , soaked in water.
- 1/4 cup finely chopped tomatoes.
- 2 tbsp grated jaggery.
- 1 tsp lemon juice and a very small piece of grated ginger.
- 2 slit green chillies.
- 1/4 tsp chilly powder.
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder.
- salt to taste.
How To Prepare Arhar Dal- Gujarati Way:
- Take 1 cup of Arhar Dal and soak it in water for about 30 minutes. Wash the Dal, add 2 cups of water and pressure cook it for about 2 to 3 whistles.
- Cool slightly and blend in a mixer to a smooth mixture and keep it aside.
- Combine the yam, peanuts and dates. Now, add enough water and pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles.
- Heat the ghee and oil in a deep pan and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
- Now add the fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, chillies and asafoetida, and mix them well and sauté on a medium flame for a few seconds.
- Add 1½ cups of water, kokum, tomatoes, jaggery, lemon juice, ginger, green chillies, chilli powder and turmeric powder and mix them thoroughly.
- Bring to boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, while stirring continuously.
- Add the Dal, yam, peanuts, dates and salt, mix well and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, while stirring continuously.
- Finally add the freshly chopped coriander leaves to garnish them and your tasty Guajarati Arhar Dal recipe is ready to be served.
Arhar Dal or Toor Dal is one of the staple food of every Indian household. This simple recipe is flavourful, simple and full of nutrients, one is sure to get an amalgamation of great taste with wholesome goodness and nutrients. The Arhar Dal, Masoor Dal or Toor Dal is something that constitutes an integral part of every Indian meal. Different states have different homely ways of cooking Dal, but one commonality is that most of these are quick and easy to prepare so they can be prepared without much ado on a routine basis.We have brought out some best dinner or lunch ideas for you. Get started trying today!
