on May 24, 2021, Updated Oct 11, 2022 I just love dhaba food. I love recreating dhaba style recipes at home, and they’re actually really easy and so satisfying. Have you tried my Dhaba Style Chicken Curry or Dhaba Style Dal Makhni yet? Today we bring to you – authentic dhaba style moong dal (green gram). Don’t go by appearances, because this is not your same old boring working lunch! Though dal is a really simple dish, we’ve added tadkas and seasoning to spruce it up. So it tastes familiar and comforting, just like moong dal that you get at roadside Punjabi dhabas!
Green Gram – Tasty and Healthy
We used split green gram with skin for this yellow dal recipe. In Hindi, it’s called chilke wali moong dal. Moong dal is easily digestible and full of nutrients. It also absorbs flavours really well, so we have that to our advantage!
How To Pack Flavours Into Moong Dal
The beauty of making dal is that such few ingredients come together to make such a satisfying comforting meal.
Dollops of fresh desi ghee for an extra buttery flavourFresh ginger, garlic, onions and tomatoes are staples of Indian food and add flavour and texture to the dalWe used coriander powder and chilli powder, and a pinch of garam masala to spice up this dal
Tempering/ Tadka For Moong Dal
The tempering or tadka is such an important part of infusing flavours into a dish! Lots of garlic toasted in desi ghee with some chillies, cumin seeds, and curry leaves add SO MUCH FLAVOUR to this dal. Note: Make sure to fry the garlic till golden brown first and then add the remaining ingredients. Garlic takes longer to fry, and the other aromatics will burn if you add them too early. Plus, slowly frying the garlic will infuse the oil or ghee with more flavour. So when hot tadka mixes with the dal, the flavours are brilliant.
Richa’s Top Tips To Make The Best Moong Dal
Moong dal is available in three varieties – whole, split, and skinned. The skinned variety is the fastest to cook and easiest to digest. We used split green gram with the skin in this recipe because we love the flavour and texture. You can use the other varieties too, but the cooking time would differCook the dal in a pressure cooker till it’s tender. It should easily mash with the back of a spoonSmash garlic with the skin on and fry it for that extra garlicky flavour. However, this is optional, you can also chop up garlic slivers and add them.If you want to make this dal extra spicy, you can add chili powder to the tadka!
Pro Tip: When making any kind of dal, don’t think twice before adding those extra dollops of ghee! Ghee makes any dish taste richer and gives a creamy mouth feel. You can add ghee to the dal and to the tadka too! Here’s my guide to making The Best Homemade Desi Ghee! Don’t forget to garnish moong dal with fresh chopped coriander leaves! Serve it with Soft Rotis or Jeera Rice.
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More Dhaba Style Recipes
Dal FryDal TadkaPalak PaneerMatar PaneerChicken CurryMughlai ChickenPaneer Butter Masala
