Gujarati Daal

I'm Gujarati and this daal has been staple in my house for generations now. It is very simple to cook; it is one of the initial dishes I learnt from my mom and this is her recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Toor Daal/Arhar Daal/Split Pigeon Peas
• 1 tsp Oil
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¹/₂ tsp Fenugreek Seeds
• Pinch (¹/₈ tsp) of Asafetida
• 10-12 Curry Leaves
• 2 Dried Red Chillies
• 1 tsp Ginger Paste
• 1¹/₂ tbsp Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp Aachaar Masala/Pickle Spice Mix (Ready made pickle can be used if you don't have pickle spice mix)
• 2 tsp Coriander-Cumin Powder/Dhaniya-Jeera Powder
• ¹/₄ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1¹/₂ tsp Jaggery/Gud
• 1 cup Tomatoes - Diced
• Salt - to taste
• Water - to boil and while cooking
• 2 tbsp Cilantro - Finely Chopped

Method:

• Wash the daal thoroughly (you'll need to wash it multiple times if you have oil-coated daal). 
• Now, in a pressure cooker, add the washed daal and water at-least an inch above the daal layer. Pressure cook it for 3-4 whistles. 
• When the pressure goes off, open the lid and using an immersion blender or a hand churner, blend it smooth. 
• In a big sauce pan, add oil, mustard & fenugreek seeds allow them to crackle. When they crackle, add the curry leaves, dried red chili, asafetida and ginger paste; give it a quick stir and add the blended daal mixture. Also add water enough to make it a thin soup-like consistency. 
• Add all the masala, viz. salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, pickle powder, coriander-cumin powder and jaggery and mix. Let it come to a boil on a high flame. 
• Lower the flame to medium and add the diced tomatoes. Let it cook covered for 10 minutes.
• Add the lime juice and cilantro and simmer for 30 minutes (at-least) - this is the most important step as the daal developed the flavor from all the spices as it simmers. Of course, if you are in a hurry, you may take it off the flame sooner but trust me, you will notice the difference in the taste. 
• Stir and see if you need to add more water to adjust the consistency (while simmering, quite some water would evaporate). If you've added more water, cook it for 5 more minutes.
• Enjoy!!

Serving Suggestions:

Gujarati daal is popularly served with rice/roti. I also like to relish it piping hot as a soup :). The possibilities are endless!