Dāl bhāt (Hindi: दाल भात, Nepali: दाल भात, Bengali: ডাল ভাত, Gujarati: દાળ ભાત, Marathi: डाळ भात, Assamese: দাইল ভাত dāil bhat / দালি ভাত dāli bhāt, Urdu: دال بھات) is a traditional meal originated from the Indian subcontinent. It consists of steamed rice and a cooked lentil or other pulses stew called dal. It is a staple foodin these countries. Bhāt or chāwal means “boiled rice” in a number of Indo-Aryan languages.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal_bhat
Yep. Another dal recipes. I’m not currently planning to get into the subtleties of dal in every single different region of the Indian subcontinent, but there are a few different version I am going to look at.
Dal bhat literally means “lentils and rice”. In Nepal, Bengal, Gujarat, and a few other parts of India the traditional dal meal goes by this name. Searching Google brings up mostly Nepalese recipes, so that’s what I’m going with here.
Dal bhat is the daily staple meal of the Nepalese people, although at higher elevations rice may be replaced with another grain such as corn, buckwheat or millet that grows better in cooler climates. Often the rice and soupy lentils are served with a mixed vegetable curry and Indian style pickled vegetables to make a complete meal.
Apparently as a blogger, especially a western one, writing about Nepali dal bhat, it is obligatory for me to talk about how if you go trekking in Nepal you will eat this meal every day, and the difficulty of your days hike will be gauged in how many serving of dal bhat you have to eat to maintain your energy. There, obligation fulfilled. Sorry I don’t have any firsthand experience of this, so there aren’t any amazing Himalayan scenery photos to insert here. (Seriously, almost every recipe I looked at had at least one paragraph devoted to this. I guess there’s not a whole lot of other interesting story to write about with this dish.)
The recipe itself isn’t that different from what I shared last time. The spices are a little different, and perhaps added a little more generously, and fresh chilies are reserved for garnish instead of added in the beginning, but the basics of lentils, onion, garlic, ginger and tomato are all still there.
If you are a spice wimp I’d recommend cutting back on the dried red chilies, and skipping the fresh ones. With the Indian chilies I used in my spice blend the dal was already pretty spicy before I added fresh hot peppers, at which point it was officially make-my-nose-run hot.
For vegans, simply use oil to sauté your onions and spices, and skip the butter at the end.
Dal Bhat
Serves: 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
1 ⅓ teaspoon coriander seed
OR
⅞ teaspoon ground coriander
1 ¼ teaspoon cumin seed
OR
⅞ teaspoon ground cumin
13 whole peppercorns
2 whole cloves
2 dry red chilies
OR
⅓ teaspoon red chili powder
1 cup basmati rice
2 cup water
1 cup red lentils
1 ¾ Tablespoons oil
OR
1 ¾ Tablespoons ghee
1 ⅓ teaspoons black mustard seed
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ¼ inch ginger root, grated
1 large tomato, diced
⅔ teaspoon salt (use Himalayan pink salt for an authentic touch)
⅔ teaspoon turmeric
1 ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder
4 ½ cups water
½ Tablespoon butter
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1-2 red chili peppers, sliced
1 large lime, cut in wedges
Optional:
1 Tablespoon olive oil,
16 oz canned tomato, in place of fresh
½ teaspoon cayenne
Ground black pepper, to taste
Chutney, on the side
Indian Curd, on the side
Vegetable curry, on the side
Indian Pickle, on the side
⅔ inch cinnamon stick
⅓ teaspoon salt, for the rice
1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
Place the whole spices in a spice grinder or blender and grind to a powder. (If your blender doesn’t handle small quantities you can add a little water, since we will be using all of the mixture in the dal.) Set aside.
Combine rice and 2 cups water in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until water is absorbed. Remove from heat, but do not remove the lid. Allow to steam for 10 minutes before opening the pan. Fluff with a fork before serving.
Meanwhile, rinse your dal in several changes of cool water, until the water runs clear. Set aside.
Heat oil or ghee in a large pot over medium high heat. Add mustard seed and cook until the pop, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook until golden, about 5 minutes.
Add the, garlic and ginger and cook for a minute or so, until fragrant.
Add the tomato, along with the ground spices from the first step, and the salt, turmeric and cardamom powder. Cook until the tomato is soft, about 4-5 minutes.
Add the lentils and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Then add the 4 ½ cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft.
Stir in the butter and cilantro, and taste for seasoning.
Put several spoons full of rice in each bowl and top with the dal, garnished with chili peppers and lime wedges. Or, for a more traditional presentation, put a mound of rice in the center of a tray with bowls of dal, chutney, vegetable curry, etc. surrounding it.
Lorin cooks Legumes 