Panchmel dal is an incredibly delicious Rajasthani dal recipe made with a mixture of 5 lentils, a generous portion of ghee, onion, tomato, and a few basic spices.
2teaspoonGinger paste or freshly grated or crushed
2teaspoonGarlic paste or freshly grated
2teaspoonsRed chili powder
1teaspoonCoriander powder
1 ½cupsTomatochopped
¼inchGingerjulienned
2Green chiliesslit
Saltto taste
1 ½cupsWateror as needed to make dal consistency
Instructions
Pressure Cooking Dal:
Take the mixture of 5 lentils in a bowl and rinse them with water by massaging the dal gently using your fingers. Rinse 2-3 times or until the water is not cloudy anymore. Take it to a pressure cooker, add salt and turmeric powder.
Add water and stir to mix.
Cover the cooker with a lid and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles on medium heat.Instant pot:Manual 10 minutes.
Let the pressure go down by itself and open the lid. You’ll notice most of the dal gets cooked to the mushy stage and chana dal has its shape intact.
Making Panchmel Dal Recipe:
Heat the ghee in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add cloves and saute for 30 seconds or until you get a nice aroma of cloves. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit. Add hing.
Immediately add onion, sprinkle a pinch of salt to speed up the cooking process. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until the onions get soft and light pink or translucent in color.
Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 1 minute or until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.
Add red chili powder and coriander powder. Mix and cook for a minute. If spices are getting burned then add a splash of water to make the mixture moist and avoid burning.
Add tomatoes, julienned ginger, and slit green chili. Mix and cook until tomatoes are soft and mushy.
Add cooked dal along with some more water.
Mix and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the stove and panchratna dal is ready to serve.
Notes
Don’t have all 5 lentil varieties? That’s fine, just mix 2 or 3 (or whatever you have on hand) and make this dal. It will still taste super good.
Make it light: Reduce the amount of ghee or replace it with oil.
Adjust the spice level: The given amount makes a medium spicy panchmel dal. To make it mild, reduce the amount of green chili and red chili powder. To make it spicy, increase only the green chili amount.
Soak the lentils for 20-30 minutes if you have time. This reduces the cooking time as well as helps in easy nutrient absorption.