Original Hyderabadi Khatti Dal Recipe

Lentils are full of protein and there are various ways of making it. Indians love their dal but khatti dal (sour lentils) is a dish which everyone craves for. In fact it is Zeenat Aman’s (Indian actress) favourite recipe and one of my go tocomfort food as well..:) You can enjoy this dish as a soup or have it with chapattis and rice. Now the recipe I am going to share with you is brought to you from the book (101 Easy to Cook Hyderabadi Recipes by Geeta Devi).

Prep Time – 20-25 minutes

Cook time – 20-25 minutes

Serve – 3

Ingredients

First you need to pressure cook the dal and the ingredients for that are:

• 1 cup toor dal/ split pigeon pea lentils
• 2.5 cups water for pressure cooking the lentils
• 1 medium tomato
• ½ inch ginger, finely chopped or grated
• 2 garlic, grated or crushed
•  Pinch of turmeric powder

Other Ingredients

• 1 tbsp seedless tamarind soaked in ½ cup warm water for 30 mins
• 2-3 green chilies, chopped or slit - add as required
• 1 tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
• ½ tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder
• Coriander leaves
• 1 cup water if required
• salt to taste

Ingredients to add in tadka

• 3 to 4 tbsp oil or ghee
• 2-3 dry red chilies, kept whole or broken
• 6-8 garlic, finely chopped
• 12-15 curry leaves/kadi patta
• ½ tsp cumin seeds/jeera
• Pinch of asafoetida/hing

Method

cooking the lentils/dal:

Rinse the dal well. pressure cook the dal with the tomatoes, garlic, ginger and a pinch of turmeric powder. Add 2.5 cups water for 7-8 whistles or more till the lentils are cooked and mushy.

Squeeze the pulp from the tamarind directly into its bowl of water. when the pressure settles down on its own, open the lid.

Mash the dal with a wooden spoon or hand blender till smooth.

Strain the tamarind pulp and add to the dal.

Also add the green chilies, turmeric, red chili and coriander powder. Stir in the ¾ or 1 cup water along with salt.

Keep the dal on a low flame and simmer for 8-10 minutes till the raw aroma of the tamarind goes away and the all the flavors have blended well and the dal has reached a medium consistency.

Cover and keep the cooked dal aside.

How to prepare for the tadka:

Heat oil in a small frying pan. crackle the cumin seeds first.

Then add the garlic and fry for 4-5 seconds. Add the dry red chilies, curry leaves and asafoetida./hing

Fry till the red chilies change their color and the curry leaves become crisp.

Pour this tempering in the dal and stir.

Cover and keep aside the khatti dal for 5-6 minutes for the flavors to mingle.

You can add coriander leaves for garnish

Serve the dal with steamed basmati rice or chapati.