Thursday, September 9, 2010

Dalma

Dalma is synonymous with Odiya Cooking and a comfort food of Odiyas. This is a highly nutritious dish which combines lentils (daal) and vegetables. There are many versions of Dalma but this one is the most common one. This traditional dish is prepared in earthen vessels in many temples across Odisha and offered as a Prasad.
Preparation Time - 45 minutes
Serves - 4
Ingredients
Toor Daal - 1 Cup
Pumpkin - 1 Cup cut into large pieces
Raw Banana - 1 Cup cut into large pieces
Bringjal - 1 Cup cut into large pieces
Drum Sticks - few pieces
Ginger - 1 inch
Dry Red Chilli - 5
Cumin Seeds - 3 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 3 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation
1 Wash and cut all the vegetables into large pieces. Soak the Toor daal for 20 minutes.
2 Add a little salt and turmeric Powder to the daal and pressure cook so that the daal gets 3/4th cooked.
3 Once the daal is partially cooked, open the cooker and add coarsely grated ginger and all the vegetables.
4 Pressure cook again on medium heat (1 whistle) so that the daal gets completely cooked along with the vegetables.
5. In a separate pan heat the Ghee. Add 1tsp of Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds and 2 dry chillis to crackle. When the tempered Ghee is still hot add it to the cooked daal and vegetables. Add sugar now.
6. Simmer for a minute or two.
7 Dry Roast the remaining Cumin Seeds and Dry Red Chillis. Grind them to prepare a powder.
Season the Dalma with this powder. This brings out the real flavor of this dish.
Serving Tips
Serve hot with a extra ghee on top with Rice or Paratha
Notes
Make sure the daal is not watery and cooked to a thicker consistency.The vegetables should be cut in large cubes,else they may get mashed while cooking.
Variation
You can add your choice of vegetables. Freshly grated coconut gives this dish extra flavor. In case you don't like ghee,use refine oil instead. You may also avoid sugar in this dish.
Other Names
Toor Daal - Arhar Daal, Raw Banana - Green Plantain, Bringjal - Egg Plant, Ghee - Clarified Butter

21 comments:

Suji said...

Dalma looks scrumptious. I think in South India we prepare something similar called Sambhar...Hmm looks yummm yumm Satrupa...

Satya said...

hey Satrupa,
thank q somuch dear for sharing this dalma recipe , i was missing dalma terribly from last few day ..ur Dalma looks awesome ...n thanks dear for sharing the wonderful tip about batura ,i will surely use it ...

Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

Unknown said...

This is totally new to me and looks tasty

Sandhya Hariharan said...

thanks for sharing satrupa...
v new to me.. and must try in my dairy!!

Unknown said...

this is new to me....will try it...sounds very tasty and healthy...

Akila said...

wow... mouthwatering one...

Regards,
Akila

Sushma Mallya said...

Name is really interesting, dish looks delicious & healthy with vegetables and dal in it..

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Satrupa
You are really dragging me back to old days in Athgarh..thanks for that.. Now I know , what I missed in dalma ..the dui ( 2) phuntana., will try in a day or two...
Do you recall, Barha ( BaDa) tarkari in way side shop? Do you have the tarkari recipe? Bit of Buta dali , vegetables, but missing out on the typical chhunka ...many places had a strong presence of garlic in chhunka...tried my best but just cd not reproduce the aroma lingering in my mind.
have a nice weekend

Priya Suresh said...

Wow sounds very delicious and comforting..

My Kitchen Antics said...

a new dish 2 me...but sounds interesting. And since dal is something i love, i am sure il like this one

aipi said...

that looks wonderful and what a complete looking dish, dal and veggies in the same one :)

US Masala

Suja Manoj said...

New to me..sounds wonderful,dal and veggies,comfort dish

subhashini said...

Hi
First time in your blog>lovely space you have.Would really love to follow you.

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

we have an oriya restaurany here called Dalma and we love their food. the thali comes with a big bowl of this dal....looks perfect. creamy and yummy.

Shabitha Karthikeyan said...

Looks like the South Indian Sambhar !! Perfect comfort food. Happy follower of your blog now !!!

Elaichii said...

Yes, it does look like sambhar to me!

Torviewtoronto said...

lovely meal with lots of vegetables

s said...

Never heard of this, but it looks so nutritious and delicious. Lentils and veggies are always a good thing!

Anju Rathore said...

With every pic of your dishes I start feeling hungry.This is really tempting.

Satrupa said...

Thanks all of you. Your comments and suggestions keep inspiring me.

Lakshmi @Purevegetarian said...

There is nothing better than hot, white rice and dalma with a liberal dash of ghee!

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