Arhar Dal (Toor Dal or Split Yellow Pigeon Peas Soup)

Photo courtesy: Dr. Debarshi Chatterji

Recipe courtesy: Mamma

Arhar Dal also known as Toor Dal (in Hindi) or Split (Yellow) Pigeon Pea is one of the most common Dals in Indian homes. I think the reason is, the ease of preparation. You don’t need a ton of ingredients to prepare this dal and yet it tastes divine. Dal, Bhat and Bhaja is one of my favorite comfort foods and this dal literally takes two whistles to cook. You can also make a delicious dal fry by adding onion, tomatoes, cilantro, ginger and garlic in it.  However, most of the times, I just boil the dal and temper it later with some ghee, cumin seeds and green chili. Debarshi often requests a different temper which also includes some minced garlic. You can prepare it either way, depending on your mood. You can also just add a dollop of ghee in the boiled dal and have it with some rice or fresh roti. You can also have it like a soup. See, the possibilities are endless.

My mom always prepares a different type of dal everyday. She says that every dal differs in its nutrition and hence it is recommended to keep them on rotation. Plus, every dal tastes different and the way you temper it also alters its flavor. Growing up, I never really thought about all the planning that goes in the preparation of a well balanced meal. Now when I think about it, I can’t help but smile for all those times when I threw a tantrum just because of dal! I was not a picky eater but Arhar dal was my favorite and that is what I wanted everyday. Having a meal together is an important tradition in most of the families. It is a time for everyone to sit together and share things. Hence, my mom would always tell us to keep quiet and eat whatever was served on the plate. I never really thanked her for teaching us this valuable lesson. However, once I moved to Delhi and had to cook my own meals, I thoroughly missed those family dinners. Then I would get bored of eating the same dal everyday and most of all the discussion, the fun and the laughter. I have maintained this tradition in our home as well. Debarshi and I always eat our meals together. We talk and share whatever we did throughout the day. Now, I may not cook a different dal everyday but I do know all the amazing recipes and I do prepare them often.

Now let’s come back to Arhar dal. This dal is also used to prepare Sambar (lentils with vegetables served with fritters) so you can just get one bag of dal and prepare it in different ways. For the busy weeks, I always boil a big batch of dal in the cooker. Then I divide it into 3-4 portions and temper/ fry it as I feel like. I think this recipe is easy and quick and perfect for the weeknight dinners. You can freeze the leftover dal and thaw it later as per your need. For those of my friends who don’t have a pressure cooker at home, please make sure to cook the dal very well before consuming. It doesn’t matter much if you overcook the dal but you should definitely check that it is not undercooked. Just mash the dal lightly with a rubber spatula/ spoon and if it gets mashed easily then it is cooked.

The best part is, you can enjoy this dal as a simple comfort menu or convert it to a multi course meal. Just start the meal with some Saag, followed by dal and some Bhaja or torkari (Alu Bhindi or Alu Posto), then serve the fish or meat course and finally Payesh. We Bengalis usually cook this multi course meal for special occasions but I am going to share with you my little secret. You see, I almost always have leftovers. Over the years I have learned to serve those leftovers as a planned meal. So, if I have some Bhaja or torkari and some meat or fish leftovers from my weeknight dinners then I can very well serve a full multi course meal on weekends! All I have to do is cook some fresh dal and rice and serve with fresh crisp salad.

Now if I have convinced you to give this dal a try then you must be wondering where can you buy it. You can find Arhar dal in almost all Indian stores and often in the Asian or oriental aisles of other grocery shops. I would urge you to give this dal a try and then post in the comments how it turned out.

Ingredients:

• Arhar Dal (Toor Dal or Split Yellow Pigeon Peas) - ½ cup
• Water – 2 cups
• Salt – ½ teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder – ½ teaspoon
• Oil – 1 teaspoon

For tempering:

• Green Chilies - 1-2, slit in halves
• Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Ghee – 1 tablespoon
• Garlic – ½ teaspoon, minced (optional)

Let’s cook the dal:

• Wash the dal well.
• Add the dal in the pressure cooker along with the Salt, Turmeric powder, and Oil. 
• Add the water in it and mix well.
• Close the cooker and put it on medium heat. Make sure to put the whistle and rubber on the lid and close it properly.
• When the cooker whistles for 2-3 times, turn off the heat and let it cool down.
• Once the pressure drops and the lid opens, start the tempering process.

Directions to temper the Dal:

Indian cooking often involves tempering hence my mom has given me a special temper pan. It’s a small pan about the size of a cup. It has a sturdy handle and a flat base which makes it easier to place on the stove top. Now, if you have even a slightest doubt that the pan will not stay put on the stove top, it will be best to hold the handle till it heats up and the spices sizzle. You can get the temper pan from Amazon.com using the keyword - Tadka pan.

• Add the Ghee, Green Chilies, Cumin seeds and Garlic (if using) in the pan and heat it over medium high heat.
• Once the seeds start popping (the garlic will start changing color to golden red, do not burn it), turn off the heat. 
• Carefully pour it in the cooked Dal and cover immediately (sometimes the hot spices make the water in the dal jump).
• Bring the dal to a boil. 
• Serve hot with steamed rice or Roti and torkari.

Tip: If you don’t have a temper pan, use a small cooking pot for this step.

Recommended Reading:

• Panch Bhaja (Crispy Deep Fried Vegetables)
• Moonger dal (Yellow Lentils soup)
• Sambar (South Indian lentils and vegetable soup)
• Urad Dal Bengali Style (Biulir dal/ White Lentils Soup)
• Sweet Masoor Dal (Red Lentils Bengali style)
• Alu Posto (Bengali recipe: Potatoes with Poppy Seeds)
• Kopi Alur Chochchori (Bengali recipe: Stir fried Cauliflower with Potatoes)
• Make Homemade Ghee from Spoiled Cream
• Chochchori (Bengali style mixed vegetables)
• Alu Bhindi (Bengali Torkari - Potatoes with Okra stir fry)
• Indian Salad
• Chaler Payesh (Bengali style Rice Pudding)
• Doi Mach (Bengali Recipe: Succulent Fried Fish in Yogurt Gravy)
• Saag Bhaja (Bengali style Stir-fried Spinach)
• Mangshor Jhol (Bengali Style Mutton Curry)
• Jeera Rice (Rice flavored with Cumin Seeds)
• Cholar Dal (Bengali recipe: Chana Dal/ Split Bengal gram)
• Kacha Aamer Ombol (Bengali chutney with Unripe Mango)
• Shorshe Diye Bata Mach (Bengali recipe: Fish in Mustard Gravy)
• Bhindi Pyaz (Okra and Onion stir-fry)
• Bhapa Ilish
• Bhindi Masala (Okra with Indian Spices)
• Bandakopi Alur Torkari (Mamma’s Cabbage in curried Potatoes)
• Alu Shimla Mirch Tamatar Sabji (Potato with Bell Peppers in a Tomato gravy)
• Alu Peyaj er Chochchori (Bengali recipe: Stir fried Potatoes with Onion)
• Mixed Dal with Cilantro (Arhar-Masoor Dal with Dhania garnish)
• Bengali Tomato Chatni (chutney) With Dried Fruits