Kaali Daal is a delicious and healthy recipe made with black gram lentils. It’s easy to make, and the perfect comfort food served with rice and a fresh salad such as this Indian Kachumber Salad.
Today, I’m bringing to you yet another comfort food level lentils recipe, that perhaps does not get as much attention as the yellow daal. I don’t know why though, because this is a delicious recipe and the perfect comfort food. I personally like to pair mine with white rice and a little bit of achar. Yum, yum, yum!
Isn’t nature beautiful? I just love how these black lentils look before being cooked (refer to the gorgeous lentily picture below).
I also think this is a great recipe for beginner cooks, because not many ingredients are involved and you don’t have to do much chopping either. Hmmm, that sounds like me every single day, and I’m not even a beginner cook. Lol.
Black gram lentils do take longer to cook than other recipes, so they need to be soaked for at least 2 hours before cooking. You can even soak them overnight. If you want, you can use a pressure cooker to speed up the cooking process after soaking them in water for a couple of hours.
For the tadka, I like to do a simple one which is just sliced onion and garlic. This alone gives a delicious flavor to the lentils, but some people like to red whole button chillies.
What to Serve It With:
So, I do hope you try this recipe, and if you please let me know how you liked it! 🙂
P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about South Asian lentil recipes, check out this Ultimate Guide to Daal Recipes in the Pakistani & Indian Manner. They’re lots of delicious recipes included too!
Kaali Daal
Ingredients
For the Kaali Daal
- 1 cup black gram lentils also known as sabot masoor ki daal
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons of garlic paste
For the Tadka (Tempering)
- 3 tablespoons oil for the tadka aka tempering
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
Instructions
For the Kaali Daal
- Wash the lentils and soak for 2 hours. Drain the water in which the lentils were soaked.
- Transfer the lentils to a pot and add about 3-4 cups water. The water level should be just above the lentils.
- Add the spices (red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and garlic paste).
- Cook the lentils on medium low heat, until tender and cooked through, while occasionally stirring. This will take about an hour.
- Once the lentils are cooked, you can mash them a little bit with a wooden spoon, or using a hand blender, pulse a couple times. This will make the kaali daal creamy.
For the Tadka (Tempering)
- Heat oil in a small fry pan, and add the onions. Fry for a 1-2 minutes until light golden, and then add the sliced garlic cloves. Fry for another 30 seconds or so, and then pour over the tadka onto the prepared daal.
Leave a Reply