Mitthi Dal
I remember my childhood days when my dearest Mom would prepare Plain White Rice, Mitthi Dal and Tamatay Gosht.. Oh yummy! I miss my Ammi terribly whenever I prepare this combination in my house. This used to be a regular combination for the Sundays lunch during my childhood in India, and we never felt tired of it anytime, it was such delicious and comforting.
Tuvar Dal (Yellow Lentils/Pigeon Pea)
You can enoy this dal along with rice and tamatay gosht as said above for a meal, or you could also enjoy it for the breakfast. Just tear up a few Phulkas or Parathas and soak them into the dal in individual plates and serve warm. We even enjoy Mitthi Dal as a soup in crispy cold winters, or when down with flu.
‘Mitthi Dal’ means ‘Sweet Dal’. There’s no sugar added to the dal here, but the subtle sweetness of the dal is enhanced by the caramelized onions. Red chilli powder is not added, instead green chillies are used.
Mitthi Dal – Sweet Yellow Lentils Stew
Ingredients:
Tuvar Dal (Yellow Lentils/Pigeon Pea) -1 cup
Salt – 1 3/4 tsp
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Onion – 1, medium sized, finely sliced
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Small Green chillies – 3, slit lengthwise
Fresh Cilantro+Mint leaves – 1/2 cup, washed and finely chopped
Mitthi Dal -Yellow Lentils Stew
Method:
1. Wash and soak the dal in surplus water for about 2-3 hours.
2. Drain the water from the dal and add 3 cups fresh water and salt, green chillies, turmeric and pressure cook it till soft.
3. Pour the softened dal with the water in a blender container and blend it till its smooth. You can also blend it using a hand blender or just whisk until smooth. Add more water if needed to blend.
4. Pour it back into the pressure cooker and let it cook on medium heat. Add warm water to make it into a pouring consistency.
5. Meanwhile prepare baghaar or the tempering in a pan, pour oil and fry the sliced onions till they are browned, and crisp. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry it along for 2-3 minutes. Add the contents of the pan to the dal along with the oil and stir well.
7. Add the chopped cilantro and mint and bring it to a boil once. Serve warm.
Suggested Accompaniments: Rice or Roti and a Vegetarian or Non-vegetarian Side dish. I usually enjoy it along with Plain rice and Tamatay Gosht, or just as a soup in chilly winter season.
This delicious dal is my entry to the event ‘Delicious Dals from India’ being hosted by Suma at her blog Veggie Platter.
Luv,
Mona
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November 16th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
A simple comforting dal!:))
November 16th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Hi Mona,
very comforting dishes you posted.
Every Saturday breakfast in our house is Miti Dal + Roti + boiled egg = Nashta (Hyd. breakfast).
I make it similar to yours but add a few things…try this & let me know how u like it.
Pressure cook : soaked dal + ginger / garlic paste (1 tsp.) + haldi (turmeric) + salt. and the rest of the method like yours. I also garnish it with Pudina (mint).
Adding turmeric gives the dal a very refreshing bright yellow color!
Peace,
Aisha
November 16th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Mona, this is such a nice daal recipe. and i agree with you about the naturally sweet taste of toor daal. Why don’t you send it to JFI: Toor daal, organized by Linda at “Out of the Garden”.
Cheers,
musical
November 17th, 2007 at 12:25 am
I can so relate to you. I miss my Mommy too and her cooking:-(.
November 17th, 2007 at 3:50 am
this dal is new to me. sounds delicious!
November 17th, 2007 at 5:54 am
Our favourite breakfast combo in my mum’s house was mitthi daal, keema (mincemeat) and hot parathas straight off the tava. For me, mitthi daal is synonymous with Hyderabad. Often I would eat the daal on its own with just the parathas/chapatis and that is soooo delicious.
I add a pinch of turmeric like Aisha, but sometimes I leave it out.
November 17th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
So simple, I would love some along with some rice…very warming, It’s so cold here!
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:19 pm
This is a lovely warming dish yum.
November 23rd, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Hi Mona, I’ve never seen this mitthi dal — it must be perfectly delicious with the simple seasonings. I think after all the Thanksgiving feasting yesterday, I would like a big bowl of this for my supper! Thank you for participating in JFI-Toor Dal with this lovely recipe
Linda
October 17th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Hi Mona,
Check out my Mitthi Daal recipe at my website: www(dot)ahwatukeemoms(dot)blogspot(dot)com
My recipe is a little bit more complicated but is made in true Gujju style. For those of you who don’t know what gujju is… That is Gujarati style…and that would be made by people who live in Gujarat. Thanx!
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:01 am
please add 3 green chillis to this recipe
November 17th, 2009 at 12:13 am
hi i like it.vgood.u rock
August 18th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
cooked this daal for Sehri today Mona – with some imput from my mom – and loved it! Simple and fantastic, just what I’d hoped for .. thanks hon 🙂