Gujarati Daal (or daar) has a perfect balance of flavors — sweet, sour, spicy! Daar is considered a staple in all Gujarati households and is always there at every meal, making it comfort and soul food. Combined with plain white rice, this daal is the ultimate end to a traditional Gujarati thali. Try this yummy recipe and don’t be afraid to adjust it to your tastes!
Prep Time: 25 min including soak time
Cook Time: 30 minutes (plus as much time as you have to keep boiling)
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
Toor Daal – 1 1/2 cups (washed and soaked for at least 20 minutes)
Water – 4 1/2 cups for pressure cooking
Raw Peanuts – 1/4 cup
Fenugreek Seeds – 1/8 tsp
Salt – to taste
Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp
Water – approx 4 cups for thinning daal or to desired consistency
Red Chili Powder – 1/2 tsp or to taste
Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
Garam Masala – 1 tsp
Kokum – 3 to 4
Green Chilies – 2 or to taste, finely chopped
Tomato – 1 medium, diced
Jaggery – 3 Tbsp or to taste
Dry Mango Powder (Amchur) – 1 tsp
Ginger – 2 tsp, grated
Lemon/Lime Juice – 1 Tbsp or to taste
Cilantro (Coriander) – 5 sprigs, finely chopped for garnishing
For the seasoning:
Oil – 2 tsp
Ghee (Clarified Butter) – 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds – 1/8 tsp
Asafoetida (Hing) – pinch
Whole Dried Red Chili – 1
Whole Cloves – 4
Cinnamon Stick – 1 inch piece
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Method:
1. Drain soaked Toor Daal and add to a pressure cooker with Water, Fenugreek Seeds, Salt, Peanuts and Turmeric Powder.
2. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles, switch off stove and allow pressure to go down.
3. Open pressure cooker and switch stove back on to medium heat.
4. Add Red Chili Powder, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Garam Masala, Kokum, Green Chilies, Tomato, Ginger and Jaggery.
5. Mix well and add up to 4 cups of additional water (a little at a time) to get desired consistency.
6. Allow daal to boil for 10 minutes minimum (longer boiling will improve flavor).
7. For the seasoning, heat Oil/Ghee in a small skillet.
8. Add Mustard Seeds and allow them to pop.
9. Add Cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle for a few seconds.
10. Add Fenugreek Seeds, Whole Cloves, Cinnamon Stick, Asafoetida (Hing), Whole Dried Red Chili, and Curry Leaves. Mix briefly and add seasoning to the boiling daal.
11. Add Lemon/Lime juice and/or Dry mango powder to desired tartness.
12. Adjust sweetness (jaggery), salt or any other spices as needed.
13. Garnish with Cilantro (coriander leaves) and serve hot with plain white rice or roti.
Tip: To add another level of sweetness and flavor, try adding dried dates (kharek) while boiling the daal.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Check out the ShowMeThecurry YouTube Channel
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Connect with us on Social Media:
ShowMeTheCurry on Facebook
ShowMeTheCurry on Twitter/
ShowMeTheCurry on Instagram
ShowMeTheCurry on Pinterest
How to make gujju daar, guju daal, gujju dal, gurjarati thali food
I am retired person from north n love cooking.The other day someone mentioned about gujrati dal. I asked my wife 2 make and we both togather made. After a very long time such delicious dal was prepared. Both of decided 2 add this dal in our menu. Thanks a ton hetel n anjali . May Godbless both of you. Rakesh N.Bhatngar,Mumbai
Hi Rakesh,
Thanks so much for the feedback and your blessings! Glad you and your wife enjoyed the daal.
can we make this dhal on a slow cooker?
I see from above that perhaps 1 teaspoon tamarind paste per kokum piece is a good substitute. Is thi correct?
Also, our pressure cooker does not whistle, is there a comparative reference for equivalent cooking times that you may know of?
Hi Nate,
You could start off with 1 tsp of tamarind paste but just as a word of caution, different brands of tamarind paste have different levels of tartness. Go easy at first and add more as needed to your taste. Gujarati daal is a perfect balance of sweet and sour.
Mmmm, this daal is so yummy, right away it was one of my favorites and I make it regularly. Thank you for posting it.
We don’t like peanuts. Would it alter the flavor too much if one didn’t add that? Many people also have peanut allergies and I noticed you have a lot of recipes with peanuts in them. Has anyone ever tried making it without peanuts?
You may leave the peanuts out if you do not like them. Peanuts are added to just add crispiness to the soft daal. Hope that helps. Thanks!
hi Hetel and Anuja.today i made your recipe gujrathi dhal after many years of using my mums’recipe of 40 plus years.being born in nz, i learnt to cook by trial and error.the gujrathi dhal turned out lovely and tasty,even my husband said JUST LIKE HIS MOTHER MADE !!!!!.
thank you for a great recipe .
good luck to you both and keep up the good work
kamla
Thanks so much Kamla! Glad you and your husband enjoyed the daal. Thanks for your support.
Hello celebrity chefs!
I tried your gujju dal yesterday and the outcome was fantastic! This is exactly what my hubby likes..thank u !
Hi H & A,
pls tell me which brand pressure cooker u have used in this recipe(gujarti daal)and what is the capacity(how much lires) as i like it very much and planning to buy one.reply soon.
PARUL
Hi Parul,
It’s a Vinod Brand and is 5 litres. I love the size and works great when cooking for 4-6 people.
Hi Anuja,
really thanks a ton for so quickly reply.i will surely buy it as u also find it very useful.take care and have a great weekend ahead.
PARUL
I have been looking for a recipe like this for a long time. It’s just absolutely perfect! This is the second time I’ve made it and it turns out lovely. Thanks for the post.
Hi Therese,
Glad you are enjoying this recipe and the website 🙂
Hetal, Anuja,
I made this dal last night for my parents! We loved it…Your recipe was perfect! We’re gujarati and my mom is always telling me to make\learn Gujarati food 🙂
I def will be trying more recipes from your site!
Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge! We appreciate!
Hi Dolly,
Thanks for the feedback! We’re happy that you are finding SMTC useful.
Just curious… is a pressure cooker really necessary? What would the results be of making this in a regular pot? Thanks!
Loved your dal made it along with your stuffed okra… it turned out super .. the combination.But i dont find kokum in south India much … so i dint add that to the dhal.. still it worked out yummmy 🙂 Thanks a lot!
Hi!
Being a new visitor to your site, I am not sure if you have a series on cooking basics, eg. “Using a pressure cooker”.
If not, can you post such topics?
Hi Lata,
Welcome to SMTC! We will put pressure cooker basics on our list to do. Thanks.
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
i made gujarati daal and it came out to be too good. The flavour was exactly what i wanted and my husband simply loved it.Thanks a lot.
Hi Alefiya,
Awesome! Glad you and your husband enjoyed it.
do you guys use oily toor dal or the dry toor dal?
i made this daal yesterday n trust me ive never tasted a better gujarati daal before 🙂 kudos tp u ladies !
Finally I made some nice dhal for my husband, he loved it!!
thank you so much for sharing such wonderful recepies!
Hi Sumi,
You are very welcome…glad hubby enjoyed the daal 😉
hi, i like you recipe.i try next time.pls learn me more.thank you.
Dear Hetal and Anuja,
When I visit this recipe link, there is an advertisement that keeps playing constantly. The audio has music and your video is not heard at all. Please see if there is a way for us to stop that advertisement to start playing when this link is clicked. Thanks for your help. I would love to view the dal recipe with the audio not overpowered by the ad.
Hi Vaishali,
Sorry to hear that. The ads keep rotating so I am not able to see which one you are referring to. Usually, there should be a “stop” button or an “x” button to turn the ad off.
Wow I loved this…tasted better than I had ever made one before.
Hi,
Sound and looks very interesting. Will try it sometime.
This turned out fantastic…simply loved the flavor. Thanks!! Can you also post the recipe for Dal Dhokli..??
hi , how r u . i want to list of how many eat 18th yrs student want full dinner like roti , subji ,rice , dal pls send me quantiti wise chart. so i make it . pls send me on “chetananand2001@yahoo.co.in” pls.
hello , anju & hetal how r u .i m working in my own paying guest with 135 student . student want gujarati dal . but i do not do it . then i see yr video n i learn gujarati dal . thanks for yr teaching .n now i make very very good gujarati dal . now again thank u very much .
hello , anju & hetal how r u .i m working in my on paying guest with 135 student . student want gujarati dal . but i do not do it . then i see yr video n i learn gujarati dal . thanks for yr teaching .n now i make very very good gujarati dal . now again thank u very much .
hi Poonam,
you can find kokum in any indian grocery store.
hi
i am about to make this daal. it looks yummmmmmmyyyyyyy
hi
What is kokum and where do i find it in USA?
u vl get it into the indian store
You can substitute 1 teaspoon tamarind paste for each piece of kokum. Some grocery stores might carry this near the produce section but if not, you can find it at a Mexican food shop.
Most people aren’t fortunate enough to be near an Indian grocer. I know the closest one to me is over 5 hours away and very small.
hi hetel and anuja
your dal looks mouth watering and yummy