Panchmishali Dal
This is the summery version of everyone's favourite 'bhaja' (roasted) mooger dal, this time loaded with a variety of summer vegetables
- Cooking time40 minutes
Calories130kcal
This panchmishali (meaning ‘medley’, referring to the vegetables) dal is hearty and delicious with hot rice. There is another popular version of this dal which is made with winter vegetables such as cauliflower, peas and carrots, and yet another one with fish head!
This particular 'summery' version uses vegetables that are mostly available around the year such as sweet potatoes, pumpkin, string beans, sponge or ridge gourd, jackfruit seeds, etc. and is perfect for warm weather.
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DonateIngredients
Serves
6 servings
- 150 g moog dal
- 80 g potatoes
- 80 g sweet potatoes
- 160 g pumpkin
- 60 g thor (banana stem)
- 160 g jhinge (ridged gourd)
- 60 g borboti (yardlong beans)
- 30 g kathal'er beej (unripened-jackfruit seeds)
- 20 g mustard oil
- 3 dried red chillies
- 3 bay leaves
- ¼ tsp kaalo jeere (nigella seeds)
- 2 geen chillies
- 10 g tomato
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 20 g salt
- 25 g sugar
- 750 ml water
- 10 g coriander leaves
- 1 tsp ghee
- ¼ tsp gorom moshla
Method
- First prep all the vegetables: cut potatoes and sweet potatoes in 3-cm cubes, pumpkin and jhinge in 4-cm cubes, borboti 4-cm long, and thor in 2-mm discs. Halve the ripe-jackfruit seeds.
- Set a kadai on medium-low heat. Dry-roast the moog dal, stirring it constantly for even roasting, about 6 minutes.
- Wash the roasted moog dal, and set it to boil with 750 ml water and 20 g salt.
- Once the water comes to a boil, add the vegetables in two batches. Add the harder vegetables first: potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and thor. Give them a 5-minute headstart before adding the borboti, jhinge and jackfruit seeds.
- Boil until everything is just about cooked.
- Heat mustard oil in a kadai. Temper it with dried red chillies, bay leaves, kaalo jeere and green chillies.
- Add tomato (2-cm chunks) and fry for 15 seconds. Add turmeric and fry for another 10–15 seconds.
- Tip the saucepan with the dal and vegetables into the kadai.
- Once it comes to a boil, add sugar.
- Continue boiling until you reach the desired consistency. You may have to adjust it by adding a bit more hot water.
- Finish with ghee, bengali garam masala and freshly chopped coriander leaves.
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