Pakode Wali Dal

35 mins

Serves 4 people

Author: Rajni Ram

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Last week I made some Pakodas to go with Kadi(More kozhambu). I had some left after lunch, so saved them for dinner. I had made Dal that night and happened to add those Pakodas to Dal, and the result was rather unique and tasty. After some research on the internet for similar recipes, I realized that I couldn’t find anything that combined Dal and Pakoda. Hence, I thought I’d share my take on it with you. In this recipe, deep-fried Onion Pakodas have been dunked in a flavourful Dal. Let’s get to the recipe right away.

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Dal

Tuvar Dal(yellow lentils) 1 cup( pressure cooked)
Moong dal 1/2 cup (pressure cooked)
Spring onion greens(optional) finely chopped 1/2 cup
Tomato 1 medium
Green chilli 2 finely chopped
Asafoetida 1/2 tsp
Ginger- garlic paste 1 tsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Turmeric powder
Garam masala 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice 2tsp
Salt as per taste
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Cumin 1 tsp
Oil for tempering

Ingredients for the Pakodas

Onion 1 large or 2 medium roughly chopped
Spring onion greens(optional) 1/2 cup
Besan/ gram flour 1 cup
Rice flour 1 cup
Ajwain/carrom seeds 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida 1 tsp
Green chilli 2 finely chopped
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Water for making batter 1 cup approx.
Oil for frying

Assemble all ingredients. Mix both Dals together and pressure for 5 whistles.
In a dish put in the Onions, spring onion greens, green chillies and all the dry spices mentioned under ingredients for pakodas add salt and mix well.
Now add water a little at a time to form a little lumpy batter. Heat oil in a karahi and when it is quite hot add 1 tbsp of the oil into the pakoda batter.
Start dropping small portions of the pakoda batter into the oil, a few at a time. Drain pakodas on absorbent paper.
In a pan heat some oil and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add the cumin and green chillies and fry. Now add the spring onion greens and tomatoes and cook for a minute. Add salt and other spices mentioned under dal ingredients, except Garam masala and lemon juice.
When the tomatoes get mushy, add the cooked dal and stir well. Now add 2 cups water and bring the dal to a boil. Put off the stove and add the lemon juice and the garam masala and stir. Garnish with coriander leaves. The Dal Tadka is ready.
To plate the Pakode Wali Dal, pour the Dal into a bowl and add in the fried Pakodas just before serving. This recipe goes well with and all Indian breads.

Directions for Pakodas

Take the Onions and spring onion greens in a dish and add the Besan and Rice flour followed by all dry masalas and mix well. Do not add water immediately. Start mixing the mixture, the onion will release some moisture, depending on that the water can be added a little at a time. We do not want a runny batter, it should be slightly dry, you should be able to form a lump with it. Now heat some oil in a Karahi for frying the pakodas. When the oil is quite hot, pour about 1 tbsp hot oil into the pakoda batter. This gives crispy pakodas. Mix with a spoon/ladle after adding the hot oil and now start dropping bits of the batter very gently into the oil to make Pakodas. Drain the oil from pakodas on absorbent paper and set aside.

Directions for dal

In a pan heat some oil. Add mustard seeds and as they crackle add the cumin seeds, turmeric and green chillies. Fry well. Now add the asafoetida and the finely chopped spring onion greens and saute. After a minute add the chopped tomatoes, salt and all the spice powders, except garam masala. Cook for a few minutes. The tomatoes should turn mushy. Now add in the cooked dals and mix well. Add about 2 cups water to the dal and bring to a boil. Put off the stove and add the lemon juice now. The Dal Tadka is ready. Garnish with some chopped coriander.

To plate, put the dal in a Katori/cup and drop in the pakodas just before you serve, or you can even arrange the pakodas in a dish and pour the hot dal over it. Serve immediately if doing this. Pakode Wali Dal is ready to serve. Enjoy. Bon Appetit.

Notes:

The Pakodas can be of your choice-Onion/ Spinach.
Don’t skip the step of adding hot oil to the pakoda batter, it makes the pakodas crisp on the outside and soft inside. Some people add cooking sods for the same, but I recommend this option.
The dal too can be of any variety.
The spring onion is optional, the dal and pakodas will taste just as fine without them. I love making dal with spring onion when in season as it gives a nice flavour to the dal.
These pakodas can be had as a snack too with some tomato sauce or green chutney, so do save some to munch on.

If you made this recipe and liked it please comment below, I would love to hear from you.

Pakode Wali Dal