A soulful lentil recipe from the Bengali cuisine, the mulor dal is moong dal cooked with seasonal radish chunks in a fragrant tempering of whole spices that tastes blissful with steamed rice
After feasting on countless treats this Christmas, we are relishing simple, soulful meals now. And what can be more soulful than making recipes that I’ve grown up eating. So, to make those, I have been using fresh winter produce in my meals. Hence, making them special in their own right. One such delicious and hearty Bengali winter recipe is the mulor dal or lentils cooked with radish. In this recipe, I have cooked moong dal with seasonal radish chunks in a fragrant tempering of whole spices. This is how this lentil recipe is made at home and I love it just that way. Absolutely simple and made with minimal ingredients, this lentil recipe tastes heavenly with steamed rice with lime juice squeezed over. Some roasted papad on the side would be a bonus!
Similar to most Bengali vegetarian recipes, even this mulor dal (lentils with radish) is a no onion, no garlic recipe. In fact, we don’t even use ginger. And still, it tastes one of the best ever! While, we at home, make it with moong dal you could choose to use other lentil varieties too. For example, motor dal (yellow split peas) and musur dal (red lentils) are two other popular choices to make this recipe. You could keep the tempering same and cook with the lentil of your choice. No matter which lentil you decide to use for the recipe, if you relish seasonal vegetables, you will totally love this soulful dal recipe. So, grab some winter produce of fresh radish and get cooking.
You may also like,
Bhaja moong dal (Bengali roasted moong dal)
Bengali masoor dal (red lentil curry)
Moong dal with tempered garlic
Serving suggestions
Like a said, the mulor dal with steamed rice and some lime wedges are all that you may need for a fulfilling meal. However, if you’d like to add some more side dishes then aloo bhaja or some aloo posto are good options. And you could always finish this wonderful Bengali spread with a lip smacking sweet tomato chutney. A piping hot bowl of dal, topped with ghee, and some steamed rice on a chilly winter afternoon is truly food for the soul. Do try this wonderful recipe and share your feedback with me. I’d love to heard from you. You can share your food pictures with me on Instagram and Pinterest. On the other hand you can share your feedback in the comment section below and also rate the recipe.
Eat hearty!
Mulor dal (lentils with radish)
Equipment
- Shallow cooking pot
- Pressure cooker
Ingredients
- ¾ cup moong dal
- ½ cup radish (mulo) cut in thick round slices
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 dried red chilis
- 1-2 tbsp coriander leaves
- 2 fresh chilis slit
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash the dal well 3-4 times with water and keep it soaked for 30 minutes. Drain, add to a pressure cooker with the turmeric, radish slices, 1 teaspoon salt and 1½ cups water. Cook until the dal and radish are completely cooked
- Heat a shallow cooking pot with the mustard oil until it smokes, lower the heat and add in the cumin seeds, dried chilis and bay leaf. Once the seeds crackle, add the cooked dal and mix well
- Add water if needed to adjust the consistency, and simmer for 7-8 minutes. Turn the heat off and add the garam masala, ghee and coriander leaves. Keep covered for 5 minutes
- Serve this simple, sumptuous and soulful mulor dal with steamed rice along with some papad on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
- tsp - teaspoon
- tbsp - tablespoon
- 1 cup = 250 millilitres
