Hyderabadi khatti dal
A traditional sour Red lentil recipe from the Hyderabadi Cuisine of India/Pakistan, eaten with rice
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Total Time40 minutes mins
Course: dinner
Cuisine: South Asian
Diet: Halal
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 249kcal
For Lentils
- 1 cup red lentils masoor dal
- 1 large tomato with the stem removed
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder haldi
- 2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 4 whole green chilies
Other
- 2 inch block of dry tamarind or Emli soaked in 1 cup hot water see notes
- coriander/cilantro for garnish
For Tempered spices or Baghaar
- 1/2 an onion sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic sliced or chopped
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds rye daana
- 7 to 8 curry leaves
- 5 to 6 whole red chilies
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 cup oil or less if you want
Soak lentils for 30 mins to 1 hr. Discard the water
In a pot add lentils and all ingredients for the lentils along with 4 to 5 cups of water.
Bring the lentils to a boil, then reduce flame to medium and cover the pot. Do not cover the pot all the way through, leave the lid a little askew. You can also use a pressure cooker for this step
After 30 mins or so, use a whisk (or a dal ghotni) to whisk the dal around and make it more uniform. Let the dal simmer on the stove.
In a bowl, soak tamarind in hot water for 5 mins. Use a sieve to strain the tamarind to get puply water and remove all the impurities in the sieve. Collect all the water released from it. Add it to the dal.
Cook for another 10 mins to cook the tamarind.
Turn off flame.
Baghar - Tempering the dal
In a pan add oil and all the ingredients for tempered spices. Fry them at medium flame until the onions turn a nice golden brown.
Put the tempered mix on top of the dal and let it sizzle.
Make sure you get all bits of tempered spices into the dal.
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with steamed rice and papad.
- You can also use tamarind paste instead of tamarind blocks. Just mix the paste with water to make a diluted version and add to the dal. I've given standard quantities, but feel free to add more tamarind if you like.
- Your dal can stay in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- You can freeze your dal for up to 3 months.
Serving: 1g | Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g | Sodium: 878mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g