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Recipes with split white urad dal

4 recipes that use split white urad dal, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Saruchakli, takes 40 minutes. It is most often cooked with asafoetida, coriander and cumin seeds.

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SaruchakliThin rice and urad dal crêpes

In Bengal, Poush Sankranti in mid-January is pithe-puli day, when the new rice and the first nolen gur (date-palm jaggery) of winter turn into a table of pithas, and saruchakli is the plain, savoury-leaning one that starts the meal. A thin batter of soaked rice and urad dal is spread on a hot pan to make delicate, lacy crêpes with crisp edges and a soft centre, eaten rolled with nolen gur or with a light potato curry. Common mistake: a batter that is too thick; it should pour like single cream so it spreads thin, and the crêpe is ready when the edges lift and turn golden and the top looks dry. Chef's tip: brush the pan with a cut half potato dipped in oil between each saruchakli; it greases evenly and stops sticking.

40 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KhichdoWheat, rice and dal porridge

Khichdo is Gujarat's Uttarayan dish of giving: on the morning of the festival big pots of it are cooked and shared with neighbours, cows and anyone in need, because charity on Makar Sankranti is thought to bring blessings. It is a slow, hearty porridge of pounded whole wheat cooked with rice and several dals until everything melts together, finished with a ghee tadka of whole spices, ginger and chilli. Some families make it sweet with jaggery instead. Common mistake: skipping the soaking; the wheat needs a night in water or it never softens, and the khichdo is ready when the grains are bursting and it falls thickly from the ladle. Chef's tip: pounded khichda wheat is sold in Indian shops; cracked whole wheat (not bulgur) also works.

120 minIndianRice & Grains
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sandwich dhoklaLayered dhokla with green chutney

Sandwich dhokla is the party showpiece of Ahmedabad farsan shops and Gujarati wedding counters: white, fermented rice and urad dal dhokla steamed in two layers with a thin band of coriander chutney in between, so every square shows a bright green stripe. It is soft, tangy from the ferment and a little peppery, and is cut into neat squares for parties and evening tea. The usual mistake is pouring the top layer while the first is still raw; the chutney sinks and the stripe smudges, so steam the bottom layer until just set before adding the rest. Chef's tip: make the chutney thick, almost like a paste, and spread it with the back of a spoon wetted in water.

70 minIndianSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Club kachoriSmall spiced kachoris

In the narrow lanes of Burrabazar and Bowbazar, sweet shops start frying club kachori before eight in the morning for traders and office-goers, who eat four or five standing up with a ladle of thin, gingery potato curry poured into a sal-leaf bowl. The kachoris are small and puffed like balloons, with a thin layer of peppery ground urad dal inside the crust. Chef's tip: soak the dal ahead (from the night before is easiest) and grind it with almost no water, so the paste is thick enough to roll without breaking through.

60 minIndianBreakfast & BrunchVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Goes well with split white urad dal