Daal Chawal

About This Recipe

Daal chawal ('lentils-rice') is the heartbeat of Pakistani home cooking — eaten weekly, sometimes daily, in millions of households. The lentil dal is finished with a 'tarka': hot ghee bloomed with cumin, garlic and red chilli poured over the daal at the moment of serving, releasing an irresistible aroma. Simple in components but profound when done well.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 200 gyellow lentils (moong dal)(or split chana dal)
• 300 gbasmati rice(rinsed)
• 1 smallonion(finely chopped)
• 2tomatoes(chopped)
• 1 tspginger-garlic paste
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspred chilli powder
• 1 Lwater
• For tarka:
• 60 gghee
• 1 tspcumin seeds
• 4 clovesgarlic(thinly sliced)
• 2dried red chillies
• 1/2 tspred chilli flakes
• Fresh coriander, lemon and green chillies, to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook lentils

   Combine lentils, onion, tomato, ginger-garlic, turmeric, chilli, salt and water in a pot. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook 25 min until lentils are very soft and saucy.

2. 2

   Whisk

   Whisk the daal vigorously to break the lentils into a smooth, slightly textured stew. Loosen with hot water if too thick. Adjust salt.

3. 3

   Cook rice

   Boil 1.5L water. Add rinsed rice and 1 tsp salt. Cook 8–10 min until just tender. Drain.

4. 4

   Make tarka

   Heat ghee in a small pan until shimmering. Add cumin seeds, then garlic and dried chillies. Fry 30 seconds until garlic is golden — do not let it burn.

5. 5

   Serve

   Pour daal over rice. Drizzle hot tarka over the top — it should sizzle on contact. Top with chilli flakes, coriander, sliced green chilli and lemon.

Variations

• •

  Tarka daal: serve daal alone with extra tarka and roti instead of rice

• •

  Mixed daal: combine moong, masoor and chana dal

• •

  Add 100g spinach in the final 5 minutes for palak daal

Storage

Daal refrigerates 4 days. Make tarka fresh each time for the full effect.

Frequently Asked Questions