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

Dalma (Odia lentil and vegetables curry)

Kitchen Mai
An extremely comforting, healthy and soulful lentil curry with vegetables from the Indian state of Odisha
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Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Course Brunch, Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine Bengali, Indian, Odisha
Servings 8

Equipment

  • Deep cooking pot/stock pot

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

Instructions
 

  • Wash the dal well and soak it in water for 15 minutes
  • Drain and cook with 5 cups of water, ginger paste and turmeric powder, over medium heat
  • In 15 minutes, add the radish, sweet potato, pumpkin and drumsticks along with the salt. Continue simmering
  • In another 10 minutes, add the colocasia roots, egg plants and the beans. Mix well
  • Once all the vegetables are well cooked along with the dal, add the chopped tomatoes and chilis along with the sugar
  • Stir well and cook until the tomatoes completely soften and mix well
  • Once done, switch off the heat
  • In a smaller frying pan, heat the ghee until it melts and add all the tempering ingredients except the chili powder
  • Once the mustard in the panch phoron has spluttered, turn the heat off and add the chili powder
  • 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"
  • 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
Keyword Bengali dal recipe, brown lentil curry, dal with vegetables, Dalma (Odia lentil and vegetables curry), Dalma recipe, Indian dal recipe, lentil curry with vegetables