Panchmel Dal is a delicacy which is consumed widely in Rajasthan. The name of the dish is tempting in itself. ‘Panch’ means ‘five’, ‘mel’ means ‘mix’ and ‘dal’ means ‘lentils. To put it simply, it is sapid dish which is prepared with five kinds of lentils, that are easily available like Bengal gram dal (chana dal), black gram (urad dal), green gram (moong dal), pigeon peas split and skinned (toor dal) and moth bean split (moth dal). It is a hearty dish which is often paired with Rajasthani flatbreads like bajra roti, besan chilla or khoba roti. Each lentil used in this dish carries a distinct taste, which makes the Panchmel Dal a thing of beauty. The dish is prepared by tempering aromatic elements like ghee, onions, garlic, ginger, dry red chillies and green chillies. The ingredients used in Panchmel Dal are easily accessible and you can make them in a couple of minutes. Here’s the recipe for Rajasthani Panchmel Dal.
- ¼ cup Bengal gram dal (chana dal)
- ¼ cup green gram (moong dal)
- ¼ cup black gram (urad dal)
- ¼ cup pigeon peas split and skinned (toor dal)
- ¼ cup moth bean split (moth dal)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ginger, grated
- 2 green chilies, finely chopped
- ½ cup ghee
- 5-6 cups water
- ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
- 4-5 dry red chilies
- 2 tsbp fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt to taste
Preparations:
1. In a bowl add all the lentils (dal), and wash them well. After that add them into the pressure cooker, along with water, salt and turmeric powder. Pressure cook them for 10 minutes or until the dal is cooked nicely.
2. Meanwhile, in a nonstick pan, heat ghee over medium flame, and when the ghee is hot, add asafoetida, cumin seeds and dry red chilies and sauté for a few seconds.
3. Then add onion, garlic, ginger and green chilli into the mix, and fry until onion turns slightly brown in colour.
4. After that, pour these prepared mixed spices on top of the cooked dal, and combine it nicely.
5. Lastly, add coriander leaves with a drizzle of lemon juice.
Your scrumptious Panchmel Dal is ready to be devoured.