I have been curious about this dal for a few months now, but the couple of times I wanted to make it, I didn’t have the whole urad dal on hand. So a couple of months back, when I had some on hand, I decided it was time to finally make this.

This dal is rustic and comes from the homes of Punjab and is also called Langarwali Dal as it is often served at Sikh Gurudwaras, especially the Harmandir Saheb in Amritsar. Made from two types of dals, urad and chana, this dal does not have too many spices and is usually slow cooked, sometimes overnight to make a creamy, soft dal that just melts in the mouth. But because we don’t have the time these days to slow cook it, it’s made in the pressure cooker.

Amritsari Dal or Langarwali Dal

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole black urad dal
• ¼ cup chana dal
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp finely minced ginger
• 2 tbsp finely mined garlic
• 2-3 tbsp ghee, oil or butter
• 1 tsp minced green chillies
• 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium sized tomotoes, finely chopped
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves (optional)

Method:

• Soak the urad dal and chana dal in water for at least 5-6 hours until the urad dal is soft to touch.
• Wash the dal well and put inside the pressure cooker with enough water to cover it, add turmeric powder, 1 tbsp each of ginger and garlic and about 1 tsp salt and cook for about five to six whistles. Open the cooker when the pressure goes away and slightly mash the dals with the back of a spoon or a whisk.
• In a separate pan, heat the ghee, oil or butter and when it heats up, add in the finely chopped onion, stir until the onions turn translucent.
• Then add in the balance minced ginger and garlic and stir well.
• Add the mined green chillies and stir.
• Saute until the onions become a nice golden colour.
• When the onions turn golden, add In the finely chopped tomatoes. Mix well and let the tomatoes cook until they become mushy
• Let the mixture cook until the oil releases from the sides. At this point, add the red chilli powder
• Pour the tempering into the dal mixture and mix well
• Add salt and water if needed and mix well
• Let the dal come to a nice rolling boil.
• Lower the flame and let the dal simmer for about 5 minutes. You can simmer for longer if you want, and the results will be better.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and mint leaves, if you are using them and serve hot with rice, rotis or nan.

Note that the dal will thicken as it cools, so you may need to thin it a bit before serving if you plan on cooking it ahead of time. Also the dal tastes much better if eaten the next day, so it may be a good idea to cook it ahead of time.