Kaali Dhaba Dal

This is the third dal of its kind I am posting in my blog, the previous two being Egg Tadka Dal and Chicken Tadka Dal which interestingly have earned me enormous page views. In my both earlier tadka dal preparations, I used green gram or green urad dal as base ingredients. But this Kaali Dhaba Dal is cooked with kali urad dal or Split black gram which by the way explains the derivative name of this dish.

Like its counterparts, Kaali Dhaba Dal is also popularly served in many restaurants, especially across the northern states of India. Best served with roti or chapati, this dal can be had with steaming rice too.

Ingredients:                                       Cooking time: 30 minutes ü  1 1/2 cups Split black gram or kali urad dal ü  1 small onion (chopped) ü  1 tomato (chopped) ü  1 tomato (pureed) ü  1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste ü  30 gm butter ü  1 tsp cumin seeds ü  1 tsp turmeric powder ü  1 tsp kashmiri red mirch ü  5-6 green chillies (chopped) ü  Salt to taste ü  White oil for cooking Garam Masala: Dry roast 1/4 tsp of each of the ingredients mentioned below and then grind them into powder: Fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, 1 mace blade, 1/2 inch cinnamon stick, cloves  Method: 1) Soak the dal for 30 minutes and then in a pressure-cooker place the dal in 1 or 2 cups of water until fully covered. Stir in turmeric powder, salt and butter. Cook till 1 whistle. 2) Now in a wok, heat oil. When oil becomes piping hot, toss in cumin seeds and let them crackle. 3) Add onion and fry till translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste and chopped tomato. Again fry till tomatoes soften. 4) Add kashmiri red mirch, green chillies and the cooked dal. Simmer away the dal for 2 minutes. 5) Then add tomato puree and garam masala powder. Add salt. Cook covered till lentils are tender but grainy. 6) Serve hot with roti, chapati or rice.