Dal Dhungar

Geets makes this dal for me. It is love at first smell. Taste comes in a close second. How do I describe this dal. Aromatic does not come close. It is intensely perfumed with a smoky quality, making my kitchen feel like a roadside dhaba. Smokiness from the dhungar or the burning coal that I've fired up over the stove. Which is the magic that pulls it all together.

Rasika is a restaurant in Washington DC with a fabulous cookbook to it's name. I use a dedicated dal recipe today. No alterations or substitutions, only a few suggestions.  Having eaten at the restaurant I know the quality of the food. I've made my version of their palak chaat. So here goes the dal..

Whole urad, chana and rajma dals are cooked till soft and mushy. Cumin seeds,onions, ginger, garlic, green chiles and chili powder are sauteed in oil. Chopped tomatoes cooked till soft in this fragrant melange, which is then added to the dals. Pats of butter melt in the dal. The finishing touches are cream and kasuri methi or dried fenugreek powder. But the piece-de-resistance is the dhungar or the dum. Dum is the technique where you place a charcoal briquette over a high flame till it starts smoking and turns ashy. Make sure the kitchen is well ventilated. A few cloves are placed on a foil square. The foil floats atop the dal. That smoking charcoal perches on the cloves. I drizzle a spoonful of ghee onto the coal. It immediately starts smoking. A lid is quickly placed over the dal to trap that smoke, which in turn gives the dal that smoky quality. We inhale and savor that aroma! Its only a matter of time before we eat the fruits of this labor.


DAL DHUNGAR
adapted and adopted from Rasika cookbook
Serves 5-6

1/2 cup whole Urad Dal
1/4 cup Chana Dal
1/2 cup Rajma or Kidney Beans
3 tablespoons Canola Oil
1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
1 large Onion, chopped finely
2 tablespoons minced Garlic
2 tablespoons minced Ginger
3 Green Chiles, minced finely
1 teaspoon Chile powder
1 cup chopped Tomatoes
1/3 cup Tomato Paste
5 tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Cream
2 tablespoons Kasuri Methi or dried Fenugreek
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
6 Cloves
1 Charcoal Briquette
1 teaspoon Ghee



Soak urad, chana and rajma in 4 cups water overnight. Drain water. Add 6 cups fresh water and boil dal covered on a medium flame for 1 hour till soft and mushy. For a faster method, bring dals to a boil. Take them off the heat and keep for an hour. Drain water and proceed with 6 cups fresh water and cook as directed. When the dal is done, pour out 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Let dal simmer over low heat while you make the masala that goes into the dal.

Heat oil in a saucepan. 

Splutter cumin seeds in hot oil for 10 seconds.

Add chopped onions, ginger, garlic and chopped green chiles. Saute for 3-4 minutes.

Add chile powder to onions and saute for a minute till the spices bloom.

Pour chopped tomatoes into onions and stir well. Saute till tomatoes are soft and pulpy.

Scrape tomatoes into the simmering dal.

Add cream, kasuri methi, tomato paste, butter and salt to dal.

Simmer on a low fire for 15 minutes, stirring often. Take the dal off the heat.

Start the dhungar by making a 4x4 square with aluminum foil. Float the square on top of the dal. 

Place cloves in the center of the square.

Heat the charcoal briquet over high heat, turning often, till ash grey and smoking.

Place the charcoal on top of the cloves.

Spoon ghee on top of charcoal and quickly cover saucepan with a lid. The smoke is trapped in the saucepan giving the dal its unique flavor. Keep dal covered for 10 minutes.

Uncover and serve hot with rice or naan.

The kitchen is perfumed with a tandoori aroma as my husband calls it. The dal thrills the tastebuds with its uniqueness. Thank you Geets for the introduction and thank you Rehan for the book!


  

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