Khatti Dal

November 6, 2008 | By sherrie In Recipes, cooking-tips, regional cuisine |

While going through the length and breadth of India through our culinary journey, we come
across so many common and uncommon lentil preparations, some straightforward and some
very complex. Today we will explore the streets of Hyderabad to pick up some of the best local
but unusual dal recipes. Some of you might have experienced them in local restaurants but it
always remains a challenge to produce them in the home kitchen.
Khatti dal (sour lentil stew), is the typical Hyderabadi preparation soured with either tamarind
or raw mango.
Ingredients
1 ½ cup Arhar dal (yellow lentil)
2 plum tomato, chopped
1 medium ball of tamarind
1 small knob ginger, peeled and grated
2-3clovs of garlic, crushed
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander seeds, roasted and powdered
1-2 fresh green chili (cut into 2pieces each)
100 g fresh coriander leaves
salt
For tempering:
3 tablespoons ghee
½ teaspoons cumin seeds
10-15 fresh curry leaves
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Method:
1. Soak tamarind in a cup of water for about 10minutes to hydrate the pulp and
remove the seed. Using the tip of your finger, force the seed out of the pulp. Discard
the seeds and pass the pulp through a strainer or muslin cloth to obtain the extract
of tamarind.
2. Wash the lentil, if using pressure cooker, cook the dal with 4 cup of water, tomato,
ginger, garlic and turmeric for 5-7 minutes (4-5whistles), allow the pressure to
escape completely before opening the lid, and remove the dal from cooker and
place in a serving container. If using a vessel to cook the dal, cook in a suitably large
container on medium heat for 20-25minutes until soft, checking in between to
ensure that they have cooked well.
3. Remove in a suitably large pan, add water if the lentil has become too thick to adjust
the consistency. Add salt, chili powder, green chili, coriander powder and tamarind
water, simmer on low heat for about 10minutes. By now most of the individual lentil
grains will give way to homogenous liquid. Season with salt.
4. For tempering, heat ghee in a small pan, add crushed garlic, cumin seeds, mustard
seeds and curry leaves. When they start splattering, pour the tempering
immediately on to the lentil, sprinkle chopped coriander on top and cover it with the
lid to trap the aroma inside.
5. Serve hot with the choice of bread or rice from Hyderabad.