¼cupspilt bengal gram(chana dal or split hulled black chickpea)
4 to 4.5cupswater for pressure cooking the dals
for tempering amritsari dal
2 to 3green chiliesor as required (reduce the number of chilies if you want)
1small to medium-sized onionfinely chopped, approx ¼ to ⅓ cup chopped onions
1small to medium-sized tomatochopped, approx ¼ to ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes
2tablespoonfinely chopped ginger
2tablespoonfinely chopped garlic
¼teaspoonred chili powder- optional
2.5 to 3tablespoonButteror any neutral flavored oil or ghee
6 to 7mint leaveschopped or chiffonade for garnishing
salt as required
Instructions
Cooking Lentils
Rinse and soak the lentils in enough water overnight or for 4 to 5 hours.
Drain the soaked lentils. In a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker, add lentils, water, 1.5 tablespoons of chopped ginger and 1.5 tablespoons of chopped garlic.
Pressure cook the lentils for 15 to 18 minutes on medium to medium-high heat until they are softened thoroughly. When the pressure falls down on its own in the cooker then only open the lid.
With a back of a wooden spoon, mash some of the lentils. This helps to thicken the consistency.
Making langarwali dal
Heat oil or butter in a small pan. Add the chopped onions. Saute till light brown stirring often.
Then add the remaining ½ tablespoon of chopped ginger and ½ tablespoon of chopped garlic, along with the chopped chilies. Stir and mix well.
Saute till the onions becomes golden.
Add the tomatoes and saute till the oil starts to leave the sides of the mixture.
Pour this sauteed onion-tomato mixture along with the oil into the cooked lentils.
Stir and mix very well. Add salt as required. Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes or more till the dal thickens.
While simmering if the dal amritsari looks more thick, then you can stir in some water and continue to simmer. Stir at intervals so that the dal does not stick to the bottom of the cooker.
Once done, then garnish with 6 to 7 chopped mint leaves or 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves.
Top the dal with some butter as needed. Serve dal amritsari garnished with mint leaves.
Notes
The recipe can be scaled to make a small batch or a large batch according to your needs.
Use lentils that are fresh and not aged. Old lentils take a lot of time to cook and also don't taste good.
You can make this Amritsari dal in Instant pot following the same method and adding water as required.
The amount of green chilies, red chili powder and butter can be varied according to your taste preferences.