Dal Chawal is not just a food but an emotion for Indians. We eat this almost everyday and it’s the basic food item to cook. For most of us, Dal Chawal is the first food item that we learnt to cook in the Kitchen. Rice and Dal are so common and popular in India because they are cost effective, healthy and easy to cook. The other reasons can include India being a primarily agriculture based country with Rice and Pulses producing at large. Moreover, Indians have a special emotional attachment with Dal Chawal as it's among the first meals that we ate after getting born (let it be Dal ka paani or Chaawal ka paani).
Would you believe that the dish which is so common and popular in India does not originate here? Yes actually, this special combination of Dal Chawal originated in Nepal and then became so popular across India. Well, Dal Chawal has a number of variants across India varying from one state to another. Basmati and Pisa are long grain rice which are cultivated in parts of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Joha and Samba are short grain rice which are cultivated in Assam and Tamil Nadu respectively. Likewise, there are many more varieties of rice in different states.
Though Dal & Chawal are two different dishes but they can’t be served separately. Both are served with each other on the plate accompanied by pickle or sabji. Well, this very common and easy to make dish can be made extra delicious with a good recipe.
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 45 minutes
Serving: 4-5
Ingredients For Jeera Rice:
1. 1 tbsp Ghee
2. 2 Bay Leaves
3. 1 inch Cinnamon
4. 3 Cardamoms
5. 4 Cloves
6. 1½ tsp Cumin seeds
7. 2 cups of Rice (soaked)
8. 4 cups of Water
9. Salt to taste
Ingredients For Dal:
1. 1 cup of Masoor Dal (soaked)
2. 1 Tomato (chopped)
3. 1 Onion (chopped)
4. 1 of cup Water
5. ½ tsp Turmeric
Ingredients For Tempering:
1. 2 tbsp Ghee
2. 6-7 PepperCorns
3. 4 Cloves
4. 1 tsp Cumin seeds
5. 8-10 Curry Leaves
6. 1 inch Ginger (finely chopped)
7. 3 Green Chillies (finely chopped)
8. 5 Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
9. 1 tsp Red Chilli powder
Method:
1. For Jeera Rice: Take a vessel and heat it, then add ghee, bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves. Once the spices start leaving their aroma, add cumin seeds, rice and mix it very well and saute it for a minute. Then after, add water, salt and give it a boil. Afterwards, lower the flame and cover the vessel to cook for 5-6 minutes. So finally our Jeera Rice is ready
2. For Dal: This is actually very simple to prepare. Just take a pressure cooker and add masoor dal, tomato, onion, water, turmeric and mix it well. Then leave the pressure cooker to cook it till 3 whistles
3. For Tempering: Take a vessel and heat it. Then add ghee, pepper corns, cloves, cumin seeds, curry leaves, ginger, green chillies, garlic and saute them for a minute. Now add red chilli powder and mix it on low flame and then add Dal. Then after, add salt and again mix it well, and now cover the lid to let the Dal cook for 2-3 minutes. Now you can garnish it with coriander and mix the Dal. So your delicious Dal is all set to eat.
Dal chawal/ pinterest.com
You can try this amazing recipe to give a new taste of Dal Chawal to your tongue as this recipe gives an extra taste to the ordinary Dal Chawal with an awesome tadka and zaika. And also, what else you want if you get a good taste in healthy food.
