This Vegan Dal takes just about 30 minutes to make and the simplicity of the recipe is the highlight. If you are a beginner cook and looking to make an Indian Dal recipe, then this is the perfect recipe to try. It is already the last month of the year. Every year passes by much quicker than the year before and we are getting a year wiser. As the months pass by, the kids are growing up more and more quickly and as a mom, my struggle to feed them healthy and tasty also increases. I should be really thankful that my boys are not at all picky and would eat anything. I have to admit that when comes to trying out different food, they are way better than many adults. That actually makes my job as a Food Blogger much more fun and exciting. Talking about kids, my theme for this week is Kid’s delight - Soups and Stews. It is the soup season and we all welcome a bowl of hot soup for dinner. One of the main reasons I make soup is for my boys. They love soups and if I have to pick their favorite, it would be tomato soup. They would though, eat any kind of soup that I serve them. I am the only person in the house who is not a big soup lover and would just drink a bowl, so that I am not a bad influence on the kids. This first soup / dal that I chose is very special. I first tasted this dal in my dear friend Lalitha and Harish’s house. They were our neighbors when we first moved to Oklahoma. They were the first family we knew in Oklahoma, first family who had us over for dinner and also someone who guided us through every essentials in a new town. This dal is Lalitha’s trademark recipe and I just love it when she makes it. Every chance I get, I request her to make this dal for us and every time she would happily bring me a large container full of this dal. The boys have also named this dal as Lalitha Aunty’s Dal. I wanted to make this dalitoy for them and hence called Lalitha for her recipe and she happily passed it on. This is the simplest dal you could make and it tastes out of the world. The usual Indian dal’s are seasoned with ghee for the flavor and aroma, but this dal has to be seasoned with coconut oil. Make sure you use good quality coconut oil for a lovely flavor. Dalitoy recipe has very minimal ingredients and can be made under 30 minutes. I need to use my Instant pot to make this next time. I thought I had made a large pot full of dali thoy, but it disappeared before I knew it. This is a great Vegan Dal recipe for all my Vegan friends.
Ingredients to makeDali Thoy | Konkani Style Dal | Vegan Spiced Lentil - (serves 4)
Toor dal / Red Gram dal / Tuvaram paruppu - 1 cupGreen chilies - 3 (slit)Coconut oil - 2 tbspMustard seeds - 1 tspRed chilies - 3Asafetida - ¼ tspCurry leaves - fewSalt - to taste
Step by step process
Wash and clean the toor dal / Red gram lentils in clear running water. Add about 3 cups of water to the lentils along with the green chilies. Cook the lentils until they are very soft and mushy. A pressure cooker works great as well as an Instant pot.
Once the dal is cooked, mash it well using a masher. I love my wooden Matthu (masher) for this purpose. The dal should be cooked quite well that it can be mashed very easily.
Add more water if you need the consistency to be thinner. I like this particular dal to be thinner and hence I added about a cup more of water.
Place the dal back in flame and bring it to a gentle boil. Add the salt needed for the dal.
In a small pan, heat the coconut oil. Once the oil heats up, add the mustard seeds, red chilies, curry leaves and asafetida and let it splutter. Add this to the cooked dal and let it simmer for about 5 more minutes.
Take the dal off the flame and keep it covered for few minutes for the flavors to combine. Serve with rice or as is as soup.
Expert tips
Cook the toor dal really soft and mushy. The secret to this dal is how smooth the lentils are. Do not be tempted to add more spices. The minimal spice is the key to the flavor of Dalitoy.Seasoning the dal in coconut oil is a must to get that unique flavor. Keep the dal consistency to soup like.
More Dal recipes
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