Dal Muradabadi

I was in Gurgaon recently, and my brother introduced me to Dal Muradabadi. I was not aware of this dal, but I loved it. So, of course, I have to bring this recipe to my blog.

Muradabad is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, east of New Delhi. From an edible historical perspective, the city gave North India the raw onion sprinkled on cooked food and the famed Moradabadi chaat masala used liberally today. Emperor Shah Jahan developed Moradabad because of the copper workmanship in the region. His son, Murad, was under the guidance of Jodha Bhai, who instilled in him a love for vegetarian food that is a far cry away from the meat-heavy Mughal cuisine. He, in particular, loved this dal, which became a staple in the kitchen and community. The dal has now spread far and wide and is one of India's unique dals.

Bhuknu masala was also new to me. It is an old, traditional recipe, and the word means "to grind". It is a bright masala with sour-earthy notes. It originated in Kanpur and gets its name from how the spice mix is ground and prepared. It can be used as a topping, adding lots of notes to a dish.

The dal is simple, long-cooked yellow mung lentils spiced with ginger and green chillies. It is the chaat toppings that make this dal supreme. On the occasion I had this dal, it was served plain with a crisp fried biscuit, adding a wonderful texture to the dal. Today, I follow a more elaborate recipe that completes the dal with chaat toppings. I used onions, tomatoes, sweet tamarind chutney, spicy cilantro chutney, puffed rice, fried moong dal, black salt, and bukhnu masala. The dal becomes full of complex textures and loaded with diverse flavours, sweet, spicy, and complex. I serve this in a small bowl so that each guest can top up their bowl as they please. It was a dal that was unique in its presentation and one that I loved.

The Indian Accent cookbook is from a well-rated and reviewed restaurant in Delhi and New York. It has found a place in the Top 100 restaurants in the world for its creative contemporary Indian cuisine. I enjoyed dining here, and the restaurant was an excellent dining experience. However, the cookbook is for advanced chefs mainly because of the ingredients and plating techniques. As expected from a book of this calibre, the recipes are excellent. For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup split yellow moong dal

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

8 cups water

Salt, to taste

1 tablespoon ghee

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Pinch asafoetida powder

1 tablespoon ginger paste

4-5 green chillies, chopped into fine circles

3 whole cloves

1 teaspoon black salt

Water, as needed

To garnish:

Use any or all of the following:

2 tablespoon tamarind chutney or commercial

2 tablespoons spicy cilantro chutney or commercial

2 tablespoons onions, finely chopped

Lime juice

2 tablespoons tomatoes, finely chopped

2 tablespoons fried moong dal or fried chana dal from a packet

A generous sprinkling of bukhnu masala, a commercial packet is ok

Cilantro, minced

Sev

Masala chana

Puffed rice

Heat the dal, turmeric, and salt in a pot with the water and boil. Scoop off the scum and simmer for 1 hour till the lentils are completely broken down. You can also pressure cook the lentils if desired. Some variations like to purée the lentils for a smoother dal, but I prefer to keep them with a slight texture.

Heat the ghee and oil in a small pan and add the cumin seeds. Sauté for 30 seconds and add the asafoetida. Stir in and immediately add the ginger and green chillies, cloves, and black salt. Stir for 1 minute, add the temper to the dal, and mix well. Taste and adjust for salt and chilli.

To serve, heat the dal and place it in a deep bowl. Then, top with all the toppings, layered decoratively.