Punjabi sookhi urad dal recipe. A unique Amritsari dal preparation in which dal is prepared with simple spices and a very few spices and herbs yet it tastes absolutely delicious. Here's my grand mom's traditional Punjabi sookhi dal recipe.
Sookhi Urad dal is Punjabi style dry dal recipe that is cooked with Skinless Urad dal with spices and a typical Punjabi tadka or tempering. As the name Sookhi Urad dal suggests, Unlike other Punjabi Dal dishes this Urad dal is cooked dry ( sookhi means dry).
It's a gluten-free, vegan, protein-rich wholesome dal preparation to serve with Paratha or chapati.
Urad dal or skinless black gram dal is cooked with a few spices because otherwise, this may taste bland. So a good tadka / tempering goes long way in making this flavourful dal that looks more like a dry sabzi than a regular dal which looks like curry.
Ingredients You Need
- Urad Dal: Normally split skinless Urad dal is used for cooking Sookhi Urad dal but I have used 24 Mantra organic whole skinless dal as it holds the texture better than split Urad dal you can use 24 Mantra organic split urad dal too.
- Mustard Oil
- Green Chilli
- Onion
- Tomatoes
- Spices & Seasonings: asafoetida, cumin seeds
Some of you have asked me about looking at the quantity used of spices and oil, does it makes the difference in terms of taste or health factor of the dish. Yes! definitely, it does. Every little thing that you put inside your body matters. And do you know sometimes the spices you use (especially the coloured ones) have lots of chemicals in them, so Yes even small quantities matter.
What is Sookhi Urad Dal?
Urad Dal, also known as black gram, is a lentil that is rich in fiber and beneficial for bone health, among other nutritional benefits. It's widely used in Indian cuisine to make a variety of dishes. There are different types of urad dal available in the market - whole black urad (sabut urad), split urad (chilka urad), and white urad (dhuli urad).
For this sookhi dal recipe, we'll be using skinless white urad dal (dhuli urad).
Preparing the Dal
Before cooking, it's important to soak the urad dal. This reduces the cooking time and makes the dal easier to digest. Once soaked, the dal is cooked with water, salt, asafoetida, chopped green chilis.
Another important thing to do before cooking urad dal is to soak it in hot water. That makes it super easy to cook dal without pressure cooker. It is a fail proof method to cook urad dal that is fluffy and has a perfect texture. In pressure cooker even 2-3 minutes extra can easily ruin the texture. So I prefer this no pressure cooker method.
Can you Cook This in Pressure Cooker
I cook the dal with water salt and hing in the pressure cooker and then after that add tadka on top and cook it little more so that it absorbs the flavours of tadka. While pressure cooking you just have to take care of cooking time because soothe Urad dal is always cooked al-dante, unlike other liquid dal preparations.
The Tadka (Tempering)
Skinless Urad dal is bland. The real magic happens when we add the tadka or tempering. But you really don't need too many spices here. The characteristic of this dal lies in it's simplicity. Too many spices can easily over power that. For the main flavour we add Amritsari vadi and that is enough to add required subtle flavours.
A Few Tips for Cooking Punjabi Sookhi Dal
- Ensure the urad is soaked for at least 2-3 hours, or it will not cook properly.
- While cooking do not add too much water. It is a dry dal. It is advisable that you add small amount of water as and when required.
- This dal recipe is naturally vegan as I have used mustard oil that adds a lot of flavour and taste. If you want you can use ghee, but I reiterate the best taste comes with mustard oil.
What to Serve with Sookhi Urad Dal
I always serve it with Paratha or chapati which makes it even better in taste and nutrition. But this time I did something different too. I had some leftover so in the next morning I topped my toast with dal and a sprinkle of sev. It was sooo good!
More Such Recipes
If you like to try out some of other traditional Indian Dal Recipes you can check out:
- Dhaba Style Dal Fry
- Punjabi Green Moong Dal Tadka { Instant pot + Stove Top}
- Langar wali Dal
- Sabut Masoor dal
- Dal Makhani Recipe
- Yellow Moong Dal Recipe
- Sindhi Dal Pakwan Recipe
- Instant Pot Masoor Dal Aloo
- Gujarati khatti Dal
- Hyderabadi Khatti Dal
- Dal Palak
- Healthier Dal Makhani
- Instant Pot Dal Makhani
there are lots and lots of other Dal recipes and dishes made with Dal/lentils which you might like to try in Dal / Lentil recipe section.
📖 Recipe
Sookhi Urad Dal Recipe | Punjabi Style Dry Urad Dal
Ingredients
- 250 g urad dal I Used 24 Mantra Organic Dal
- 1 cup water
- Salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- pinch of asafetida hing
- For Tadka!
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2-3 green chilli chopped
- 75 g Onion finely chopped
- 200 g tomato finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Red chilli powder or to taste
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2-3 leaves Tbsp corianderchopped
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Sookhi (Semi Dry) Urad Dal In Pressure Cooker
- Wash the urad dal and soak it for 30-25 minutes.
- Pressure cook the dal with salt, asafetida, turmeric powder and 1 cup of water for 2 whistles.
- If you don’t want to use pressure cooker you may have to cook the dal in 1.5 cups of water for little longer, till dal is cooked al dante.
- By the time steam/pressure is released naturally you can prepare Tadka/tempering.
- For making tempering heat ghee/oil in the big pan, add cumin seeds. Once cumin starts to splutter add green chili, ginger.
- Cook for few seconds and add finely chopped onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat till onion start to turn light pink.
- Then add chopped tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are pulpy. Now add red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and cook everything together for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.
- Now add cooked dal to the pan, if some water is left, cook the dal for few more minutes in the uncovered pan to allow the water to dry up.
- Top it with green coriander leaves and squeeze lime over it.
- Serve the sookhi dal with Chapati Paratha or any flat bread.
Sookhi Urad Dal Without Pressure Cooker (Amritsari/Lahori Dal)
- Wash the urad dal and soak it for 2-3 hours.
- After that drain out dal and soak it in hot water for 15-20 minutes.
- To Prepare Tadka heat mustard oil in a pan and smoke it.
- Switch off the heat and allow mustard oil to cool for a minute.
- Add cumin and asafoetida allow them to splutter and add green chillies
- add chopped onion and fry them till light pink.
- Now add turmeric, salt and tomatoes cook them till they are mushy
- Add drained out dal with a couple of tablespoons of water. Add broken Amritsari vadi Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes.
- Finish with a generous squeeze of lime, coriander/cilantro and enjoy with Roti or paratha.
Nutrition
Before You Go
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geet says
Hello! i really liked your post. Please share some more
Kanika Samra says
Perfect! Love hoe fluffy your dal looks. I tend to add a bit extra water and then regret it later 🙁
Recently tried to make sookhi urad with spinach and liked it.
Would love to see your thoughts and feedback on the recipe.
Ritz says
Like!! Great article post.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Vivek says
Very easy and good recipient almost dlways available
Sajida Arsiwala says
Hi! I’m making this recipe and noticed that you have mentioned ginger in the instructions but there’s none in the ingredients?