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"dalma odia lentil and vegetables curry - www.kitchenmai.com"
Kitchen Mai

Dalma (Odia lentil and vegetables curry)

An extremely comforting, healthy and soulful lentil curry with vegetables from the Indian state of Odisha
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Brunch, Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: Bengali, Indian, Odisha
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups toor dal pigeon peans or yellow lentils
  • 2 cups Indian radish (mooli) cut in 1½ inches in length
  • 2 cups arbi/colocasia roots cut in 1½ inches cube
  • 1 cup yellow pumpkin cut in 1½ inches cube
  • 1 cup sweet potato cut in 1½ inches cube
  • 1 cup flat beans cut in 1½ inches in length
  • 1 cup drumsticks cut in 1½ inches in length
  • 1 medium aubergine cut in 1½ inches in length
  • 4 small tomatoes chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger paste
  • 5-6 fresh chilis slit
  • 2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp sugar optional
  • salt to taste
For the tempering
  • 5-6 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tbsp paanch phoron
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 3-4 dried red chilis
  • 1 tsp hing asafoetida
  • 2 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder for the colour
For garnishing
  • ¼ cup coriander leaves

Equipment

  • Deep cooking pot/stock pot

Method
 

  1. Wash the dal well and soak it in water for 15 minutes
  2. Drain and cook with 5 cups of water, ginger paste and turmeric powder, over medium heat
  3. In 15 minutes, add the radish, sweet potato, pumpkin and drumsticks along with the salt. Continue simmering
  4. In another 10 minutes, add the colocasia roots, egg plants and the beans. Mix well
  5. Once all the vegetables are well cooked along with the dal, add the chopped tomatoes and chilis along with the sugar
  6. Stir well and cook until the tomatoes completely soften and mix well
  7. Once done, switch off the heat
  8. In a smaller frying pan, heat the ghee until it melts and add all the tempering ingredients except the chili powder
  9. Once the mustard in the panch phoron has spluttered, turn the heat off and add the chili powder
  10. Pour this fragrant tempering over the dal along with the coriander leaves, mix well and let it sit covered for 5 minutes
    "dalma odia lentil and vegetables curry - www.kitchenmai.com"
  11. Serve the dalma (Odia lentil and vegetables curry) hot with steamed rice, some fried aubergines and a wedge of lemon. Enjoy!
    "dalma odia lentil and vegetables curry - www.kitchenmai.com"

Notes

  • *Paanch phoron is a Bengali whole spice mix, made by mixing equal parts of mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and onion seeds
  • I have added sugar to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. You could leave it out if you so wish
  • If you feel the dal is getting too thick, you could add some more water
  • You can also garnish the tempered dal with some fresh grated coconut
  • For a vegan option you can make this in mustard oil
  • tsp - teaspoon
  • tbsp - tablespoon