Perfect dal is all about tadka, baghar, vagharne, chonk, phodni or…..just call it tempering !!

January 9th, 2013

about ajoy

i’ve been a chef for over three decades now! i trained in chennai and started off with the taj hotel group. i’ve owned nilgiri’s indian restaurant in sydney for over 15 years. i’m on a mission to dispel the myth that indian food is no more than a ‘curry in a hurry’! come with me as i try and educate. indian food is my passion (alongside cricket!) and i’m enjoying exploring the new social media to fulfil this passion! i’ve also published cookery books, been on tv, the radio, won awards! now i’m also moving into making cookery videos. these are simple and easy to follow and don’t go on for hours like some Bollywood movies!

So, what is it that makes a good dal become an exceptional dal?
Well, the Gujaratis call it vagharne, the Punjabis call it tadka, the inhabitants of Uttar Bharat call it chonk, the Hyderabadis call it baghar, the Maharashtrians call it phodni and the . . . well, there are at least 25 other versions of this technique and in English we’d call it ‘tempering’.


ingredients used for adding the extra ‘oomph’

In India the actual process of tempering is the same in every state, although some of the ingredients may change because of their availability, or lack thereof, within each state, but the end result never changes which is to get a “wow” factor into the dish.

A simple dal dish is the best way to demonstrate how great tempering is.

The Southern Indians eat their dal with rice while in the north it is an excellent accompaniment with roti, or bread. You can, of course, eat yours with anything you want and as a vegetarian, if you have it with bread or rice it creates a perfect meal full of protein.


mung dal

A Northern dal dish is called mung dal tadka whereas the South Indians call it paruppu (well, that is what my wife calls it who hails from the south!). Today we are using paytham paruppu and giving it a talichu.


mung dal tadka

paytham paruppu with ‘talichu’

Ingredients:

2 cups moong dal (mung lentils)
8 cups cold water (tap water)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil


clockwise from left to right: vegetable oil, mung dal, turmeric and water

Step 1: Wash and drain lentils.


wash & drain lentils

Step 2: Add turmeric and oil to the lentils along with 8 cups of water and bring water to the boil.


add turmeric and oil and cook the lentils

Step 3:Cook lentils until soft, add the salt, turn off the heat and set aside.


mung dal should be soft to touch when cooked

mung dal, cooked, soft, salted and ready for the tempering!!

Now for the tadka or ‘tempering’:3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida powder
1 teaspoon ground chilli
salt, to taste
juice of half a lemon
2-3 fresh coriander leaves


clockwise, from left to right: vegetable oil (centre), cumin seeds, asafoetida, chilli powder, salt, lemons & fresh coriander

Method

Step 1:For tadka, or ‘tempering’, heat oil in a pan and let it smoke, remove from the heat and crackle the cumin seeds.


heat oil in a pan

add the cumin seeds

Step 2: Add the asafoetida and then chilli powder.


add the asafoetida

Step 3: Pour the hot oil (this is called the ‘tempering’) on top of the cooked lentils.


pour the tempering on the hot dal

Step 4: Add lemon juice and the coriander leaves and serve immediately!!


add lemon juice & fresh coriander

For talichu or ‘tempering’:3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida powder
2-3 fresh green chillies, roughly chopped
2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
salt, to taste
juice of half a lemon


clockwise, from left to right: vegetable oil (centre), mustard seeds, asafoetida, fresh green chillies, fresh curry leaves, salt & lemons

Method:

Step 1:In a pan, heat the oil and let it smoke. Remove from the heat.


heat oil

Step 2: Crackle the black mustard seeds (by adding to the hot oil!).


crackle the mustard seeds

Step 3: Add the asafoetida.


add the asafoetida

Step 4: Then add the chopped/slit green chillies.


add chopped/slit chillies

Step 5: Place curry leaves on top of cooked lentils and pour the hot oil over.


place fresh curry leaves on top of the hot dal

pour the hot tempering over the dal and curry leaves

Step 6: Add lemon juice and serve immediately.


squeeze lemon juice on top and serve immediately

Remember the following when cooking lentils:1. Never soak the lentils. Wash and cook them immediately.

2. Start cooking the lentils in cold water, this helps them cook from the inside, out. As the water comes to the boil the heat slowly penetrates through the lentils, thereby making them soft.

3. Add the turmeric and oil to the lentils as soon as the pot is placed on the heat. This makes any impurities rise to the surface and the oil prevents the froth from overflowing. Do not discard the froth if there are no impurities.

4. Add the salt after the lentils are cooked and soft. If added at the beginning, the salt, prolongs the cooking and may also prevent the lentils from getting soft.

Remember the following when tempering:

1. The oil must be smoking and away from the heat when adding the spices.

2. The spices must be added as soon as possible but, and this is essential, one after the other. Adding the spices alternately allows them to crackle and release their flavors into the oil.

3. Never add the curry leaves to the hot oil, they will turn black and may even cause the oil to splatter. Instead, place the leaves on the cooked lentils and then pour the hot oil on top of the leaves as shown in the picture in steps 4 & 5.

4. Add the lemon juice just before serving, this helps bring out the flavors and brightens the colour of the dal!!
Serve it accompanied with a roti for the northern version, or with some boiled rice if it is the southern version, or do what my son and I do, which is so simple and yet so delicious. We just have it as a ‘soup’ on its own. Superb!


father & son enjoying a big bowl of dal!!

Save the roti and the rice for kozhi milagu chettinad or murgh kali mirch!

And there we have it, folks!

Anah Daata Sukhi Bhaava!!!

5 Comments

  1. Jigyasa Sharma

    Thanks… Very useful, specially the tips

  2. Abid Ali Rizvi

    Lentil cooking tips are very useful, reflect the vast gourmet experience of the author. May I ask why not give the option of using Desi Ghee instead of vegetable oil.

  3. Anonymous

    Hello, I am writing from a newspaper in the middle east. Could you share your email id.

  4. My Unfinished Life (@MyUnfinishedlyf)

    yeah tadka is so imporant to us bengalis also…the way we do it makes it our signature dal 🙂
    will try your version of the mung too 🙂

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