This Punjabi Sabut Moong Dal with the goodness of ginger and spiciness of garam masala is the perfect accompaniment to any meal. Add a dash of lime on the top and enjoy it with either rice or phulkas!
The Punjabi Sabut Moong Dal is one of the many dals of the Punjabi cuisine and if there is one thing I love the most about Punjabi cuisine is its extensive use of dals aka lentils. There is no meal which passes by without a dal in the menu and there are no two days the same dal is made. This punjabi moong dal with onion, ginger, garlic and tomatoes is perfect for a winter meal with fresh phulkas and a dash of lemon.
While the Dal Makhani is one of the most dals of Punjabi, there are so many ways lentils are cooked in Punjab. There is Amritsari Dal, Dhabe Walli Dal and Punj Ratani Dal and Chole and what not! I personally think Punjabi cuisine ensures there is a lot of protein intake by anyone on a daily basis. It reminds me of how dal is a definite item in any Langar. One of the best parts of Langar is how it is such a community event. Everyone and anyone comes and participates in the cooking and serving and eating! There is something magical about the food in Langar. The simplicity of the food is so amazing that it definitely tastes divine!
I have such fond memories of dal from my childhood. It was a staple in my house and I would often ask mom to make dal based on the colour which I used to remember. Before going to the recipe of this dal, here are some other dal recipes on the blog:
Punjabi Sabut Moong Dal
Ingredients
- 1 cup moong dal whole green
- 2 onions small roughly chopped
- 2 tomatoes medium sized roughly chopped
- 1 inch ginger pounded
- 2-3 pods garlic pounded
- 2 - 3 green chillies
- 1 tsp jeera seeds
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- to taste salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ghee
- 1/2 tsp mirchi kashmiri (powder)
- coriander leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Wash well and soak the whole moong dal for 3-4 hours or overnight.
- In a pressure cooker, add the whole moong dal with 3 cups of water, salt, turmeric powder. After one whistle, reduce the flame and cook for 6 minutes. Let it rest till the steam has fully escaped.
- In a kadai, heat the oil and add jeera seeds. Fry till they turn brown.
- Add onions, green chilli, ginger and garlic to this and saute till the onions are golden brown.
- Add tomatoes and saute further till the tomatoes are fully cooked.
- Add the boiled dal and garam masala. Boil for 2-3 minutes.
- In a separate pan, heat ghee and add the kashmiri mirch powder, fry for 30 seconds and pour over the dal before serving. Add a dash of lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves while serving with hot phulkas.
Great instructions if you have a pressure cooker. I don’t!