Piquant Plate

Hello frens

Dal or pulses is a staple food eaten in our households mainly once in the main course dishes. Many types of dals are made namely dal tadka, dal makhani, langarwali dal etc.

I never heard this name of the dal, maa choliyo ki dal earlier. I heard it first time when i was watching a food show and they mentioned this as a staple dal to be made in Punjab and mainly in the punjabi families residing in Delhi.

Maa or Maah here indicates Kali urad dal/split black gram and chole indicates split chick peas/chana dal cooked under pressure with lots of spices and tempering to give a rich and creamy flavor and the garlic and onion used here gives a subtle taste to the dal.

When I had this dal I recognized the same taste of the dal made in Rajasthani dal dhokli (https://piquantplate.com/2017/12/02/rajasthani-dal-dhokli).

Ingredients:

• Kali dal/split black gram- 1/2 cup
• chana dal/split chick peas- 1/2 cup
• Water- 3 cups
• Hing/asafoetida- a pinch of
• Red chili powder- 1.5 tsp
• Turmeric/haldi powder- 1/2 tsp
• salt- as per taste
• cumin/jeera- 1 tsp
• Chopped tomatoes- 1 cup
• Chopped onions- 1.5 cups
• chopped green chilies- 1 tsp
• grated ginger- 1tsp
• chopped garlic- 1 tsp

Method:

1. wash the dals thoroughly and soak them for around 4-5 hours. 
   

   

   
2. Take a pressure cooker and heat ghee/clarified butter to it.
3. Add jeera to it and let it splutter.
4. Saute chopped onions to the warm ghee until they become translucent.
5. Add chopped garlic, grated ginger and chopped green chilies to it until their aroma comes out.
6. Now add chopped tomatoes to it and cook until it softens up.
7. Now add all the dry spices and cook until the ghee comes on the surface.
8. Now add soaked dals along with water and cover the lid of pressure cooker. 
   

   

   

   

   

   
9. Cook on high flame until a whistle comes and then cook on simmer flame for 6-7 whistles.
10. Turn off the gas knob and check the dal, if it is thick  add some water to it and cook for another 5 minutes till it becomes creamy.
11. Serve steamy hot with phulkas  or rice.