Dhaba Style Dal Fry

My first encounter with Dal Fry is at ‘The Dhaba’ in Marathahalli, Bangalore….hmmm…I think it was in 2006. It was dinner date with my husband and The Dhaba was the only restaurant which was open at that time in that area. I loved the ambiance and most of the items on menu were new to me. Being a South Indian…I have rarely got a chance to taste North Indian food until then. I don’t remember now what all we ordered but Dal Fry stole my heart and from then on I always use to order Dal Fry whenever we ate out. Since the time I started blogging, I have checked and tried many recipes but I could not get that taste of Dhaba Style Dal Fry.

Years after…with so many trials and errors…finally I have come up with a recipe which is very similar in taste to the dal fry which I use to have in restaurants of Bangalore. Dal fry is very simple to make and it can be easily paired up with tandoori rotis or jeera rice. Toor dal along with masoor, mung and chana dal is cooked until soft and mixed with hot tadka (tempering) of cumin, onion, tomatoes and green chilies along with few spices. This delicious dal fry is sure treat to the taste buds. Check out the detailed recipe by scrolling down.

This Dhaba Style Dal Fry is going to be part of ‘My Legume Love Affair #120’ which is currently hosted at Jagruti’s Cooking Odyssey. MLLA is brain child of Susan of ‘The Well-Seasoned Cook‘ and Lisa of Lisa’s Kitchen is currently successfully running this event.

Dhaba Style Dal Fry

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup Toor/Arhar dal
• 1 tbsp. Masoor dal
• 1 tbsp. Chana dal
• 1 tbsp. roasted yellow Moong dal
• 1 Onion, finely sliced
• 2 Tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 Green chili, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• ½ tbsp. Turmeric powder
• 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• ½ tbsp. Cumin
• 2 tbsp. minced Coriander leaves
• Few sprigs of Coriander leaves, garnish
• Salt, as per taste
• 2 tbsp. Oil

 

PREPARATION:

• Wash and pressure cook toor dal, chana dal, mung dal and masoor dal in 3 cups of water for 3 whistles or until soft. Once pressure settles down, remove the lid and mash the dal using the backside of ladle or wooden masher.
• In the meantime, add oil to a pan and when it heats up add cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add chopped garlic and fry till light brown.
• Now add sliced onions and fry till translucent. To this add chopped green chilies and chopped tomatoes. Fry on medium flame until tomatoes turn mushy.
• To this add mashed dal. Stir and add red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Add one cup of water and bring this to boil.
• Reduce the flame and add minced coriander leaves and cook for another 6-8 minutes. Turn off the flame and serve warm with rice or roti by garnishing with fresh coriander leaves.
• I served this dhaba style Dal Fry with Jeera Rice, Roti, Paneer Masala, Rajma Sundal and Mango Pieces.
• Add love to make this Dhaba Style Dal Fry taste ‘Yummy’.