Photo: Phadke09 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Punjab · Lunch

Amritsari Dal

Whole black urad dal cooked with ginger and green chillies, finished with a robust mustard-oil tadka and generous ghee — the rustic everyday dal from Amritsar that predates Dal Makhani and is eaten with makki roti in winter.

🧺 Ingredients

• 250g whole black urad dal, soaked 4 hours
• 1-inch ginger, julienned
• 3 green chillies, slit
• 1 tsp turmeric
• Salt to taste
• 3 tbsp mustard oil (heated to smoking point then cooled, to remove pungency)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 medium onion (100g), finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tbsp ghee (finish)
• Fresh coriander

👩‍🍳 How to make Amritsari Dal

1. Drain soaked urad.
2. Pressure cook with 700ml water, ginger, green chillies, turmeric, salt — HIGH heat, 10–12 whistles.
3. Dal must be completely soft — whole grains burst and release black starch, making liquid creamy.
4. Heat mustard oil in small pan on HIGH until smoking (about 2 min) — oil turns from yellow to pale.
5. Remove from heat, cool 1 min.
6. This removes harsh raw mustard smell.
7. Reheat mustard oil on HIGH.
8. Add cumin — splutter 30 sec.
9. Add onion — fry HIGH 4 min until golden.
10. Add garlic — 1 min.
11. Add chilli powder off heat — sizzle immediately.
12. Pour tadka into cooked dal.
13. Add ghee, stir gently.
14. Simmer LOW 5 min.
15. Garnish coriander.

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