Panchmel Dal Recipe (With 5 Lentils)

Ingredients

total 1 cup lentils consisting equal amounts of

• bengal gram dal (chana dal)
• green gram dal (moong dal)
• pink lentils (masoor dal)
• pigeon peas spilt and skinned (tuvar dal or arhar dal)
• black gram (urad dal)

other ingredients

• 3 to 3.5 cups water for pressure cooking the dals
• 2 green cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1 green chilli, – crushed in a mortar pestle
• 2 to 3 red chillies, broken and seeds removed
• 1 inch ginger – crushed in a mortar pestle
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ¼ teaspoon asafoetida powder (hing)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or oil
• salt as required

Steps

Pressure cooking lentils

1. Wash all the lentils a couple of times in fresh water.
2. Soak for 30 to 45 minutes, then drain off all the water after 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Pressure-cook the lentils with water over medium heat for 4 to 5 whistles or until completely cooked and soft.
4. Use a spoon to mash the cooked lentils lightly.
5. If thick, stir in some hot water to bring the lentil mixture to a medium consistency.

Making panchmel dal

1. Warm oil or ghee in another frying pan. Over low heat, add cumin seeds and let them splutter, then add cloves, cardamoms, and broken dried red chilies with seeds removed.
2. Fry until the red chilies change color. Add crushed ginger and green chilly and fry for a few seconds or until the ginger loses its raw aroma.
3. Add chopped tomatoes, asafoetida (hing), turmeric powder, and garam masala powder.
4. Sauté over a low flame until the tomatoes are soft and mushy and the oil or ghee separates.
5. Add the fried tempering mixture to the lentils and mix thoroughly.
6. Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes with frequent stirring so the spice flavors infuse into the lentils.
7. Add salt to taste and mix thoroughly. Garnish with coriander leaves if desired.
8. If desired, drizzle about 1 to 2 teaspoons ghee over the dal panchmel in its serving bowl.
9. Serve with roti, rice, jeera rice, paratha, or dal bati.