Kaali Daal
Slow cooked brown lentils with ginger and lemon, resulting in a creamy dish suitable for both vegetarians and vegans.
I may sound like a broken record here, but I can’t stress the importance of daal to Pakistani cuisine enough. It really is integral to a complete meal and anybody enjoying Pakistani cuisine should crave daal.
There are many different varieties of daals, some are light and cooked quite watery, some are meatier and drier, others creamy and rich. Each type of daal pairs well with certain main dishes: a drier daal complimenting a saucy main; a wetter daal a drier mince dish or BBQ meat; and finally the daal that can be eaten on its own, with just rice or naan for an incredibly satisfying simple meal.
Kaali Daal is one such daal, full of nutrition and goodness. It is easy to make, low in calories yet creamy and rich on your palate. It is the brown, unhulled variety of the humble red lentil and cooks to a lovely dark brown almost black colour. I have named it Kaali or Black daal after the colour of the dish.
As it is unhulled, the cooking time for this daal is longer and it doesn’t break down as much as its hulled sister. It requires more water as well, which combined with the longer cooking time gives the finished dish its hallmark creamy texture.
I particularly like this daal with rice and an onion salad, rather than naan, but that is my personal preference.
In a medium saucepan, put the drained lentils and 3 cups of water on to boil.
Add the onions and Hara Spice Blend. Do not add the salt at this point, as it makes the outside of the lentils hard and they will not dissolve completely.
Once it comes up to the boil, turn the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 35 minutes.
When the lentils are completely soft and breaking down, stir vigorously, mashing some of the lentils up with the back of the spoon against the sides of the saucepan or use a potato masher. It should have the consistency of thick lentil soup. If too thick, add a little boiling water to loosen, and if too watery, uncover and let cook till it thickens.
At this point, add the salt and the lemon or lime juice.
Leaving the Daal to very gently simmer on the lowest flame, prepare the Bhagaar. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium to high heat. When hot, add the chilli, ginger and garlic and fry till lightly golden in colour and slightly crisp. In English I would call it the Flourish. A lot of the flavour of the Daal comes from the Flourish at the end, where strong tasting ingredients like ginger, garlic and fresh chillies are fried in oil to concentrate their flavour, and then added to the hot Daal. Fresh ginger and garlic are essential for this step to maximise the flavours.
Pour this hot oil along with all the garlic and ginger bits onto the simmering Daal. You’ll hear a sizzling noise which is what you want.
Take a spoonful of this daal and add it to the hot frying pan to mop up any remaining oil and garlic bits. The Daal will dance around the hot pan, creating jhankaar. Add this jhankaar daal back into the rest of the pot and stir well to mix. Closest English translation would be tinkling or chiming. I like to think of it as singing. Adding the singing and dancing Daal back to the pan, gives the dish a subtle smoky flavour that is the difference between ordinary and good Daal.
Next, add in the fresh herbs off the heat. Cover and let the herbs infuse for 5 minutes.
5 Minutes
Ingredients
Directions
In a medium saucepan, put the drained lentils and 3 cups of water on to boil.
Add the onions and Hara Spice Blend. Do not add the salt at this point, as it makes the outside of the lentils hard and they will not dissolve completely.
Once it comes up to the boil, turn the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 35 minutes.
When the lentils are completely soft and breaking down, stir vigorously, mashing some of the lentils up with the back of the spoon against the sides of the saucepan or use a potato masher. It should have the consistency of thick lentil soup. If too thick, add a little boiling water to loosen, and if too watery, uncover and let cook till it thickens.
At this point, add the salt and the lemon or lime juice.
Leaving the Daal to very gently simmer on the lowest flame, prepare the Bhagaar. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium to high heat. When hot, add the chilli, ginger and garlic and fry till lightly golden in colour and slightly crisp. In English I would call it the Flourish. A lot of the flavour of the Daal comes from the Flourish at the end, where strong tasting ingredients like ginger, garlic and fresh chillies are fried in oil to concentrate their flavour, and then added to the hot Daal. Fresh ginger and garlic are essential for this step to maximise the flavours.
Pour this hot oil along with all the garlic and ginger bits onto the simmering Daal. You’ll hear a sizzling noise which is what you want.
Take a spoonful of this daal and add it to the hot frying pan to mop up any remaining oil and garlic bits. The Daal will dance around the hot pan, creating jhankaar. Add this jhankaar daal back into the rest of the pot and stir well to mix. Closest English translation would be tinkling or chiming. I like to think of it as singing. Adding the singing and dancing Daal back to the pan, gives the dish a subtle smoky flavour that is the difference between ordinary and good Daal.
Next, add in the fresh herbs off the heat. Cover and let the herbs infuse for 5 minutes.
5 Minutes