Dal Panchmel

This is a dal served on festive occasions. I belong to a vaishnav family , hence onions and garlic are not used in traditional cooking. Its difficult to stick to the no onions and garlic rule and yet turn out interesting dishes which are not too rich. This dal can be served with plain rice, pulao or rotis/ parathas. As a snack , this dal can be served with thin crisp poories and chutney.

2 tblsp each of  toor dal ( pigeon lentils), channa dal ( split chick peas), moong dal ( split mung ), udad dal ( black lentils with the skin) and masoor dal ( split red lentils). 2 dry red chillies broken into 3 pcs each, ginger - grated 1 tbsp, julienned 2 tbsp, 2 bay leaves, 1" X 2 pcs of cinnamon, 6 green cardamoms , 6 black peppercorns, 6 cloves,1 tsp jeera ( cumin)  2 tblsp ghee , 1 tsp garam masala powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric,chopped green coriander ( cilantro) for garnishing. salt to taste. Optional additional garnish- 1 tsp ghee heated with 1 tsp red chilli powder.

Clean and soak the dals for atleast 4 hours. Boil the dals with salt, ginger and turmeric. Mash the dals well , but take care not to puree it. Heat the ghee and fry the ginger juliennes till light golden brown. Keep aside. Now in the hot ghee add in the bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, peppercorns and dry red chillies. Add in the jeera. add in the mashed dal and 1 cup water. Season with salt as required. Boil the dal on a slow flame for 10 mins. add in garam masala powder and mix well. Garnish with chopped green cilantro . You can pour the ghee- red chilli powder mix on if you like a spicy dish.