Flavorful Daal Chawal: A Traditional Pakistani Delight

Few dishes are as important as Daal Chawal in the colorful tapestry of Pakistani cuisine. This simple yet intensely flavored recipe mixes delicate lentils and aromatic basmati rice to provide a fulfilling meal. Daal Chawal, whether served as a daily staple or on special occasions, never fails to bring warmth and joy to the table. This cuisine, rooted in Pakistani customs, has been passed down through centuries, developing to suit the people’s different palates and tastes. It exemplifies the beauty of simplicity, combining common ingredients to produce a perfect balance of flavors. This dish is also an alternative to meat as daal “lentils” are the best source of non-animal protein. In this blog, we will take you on a culinary adventure, giving you a step-by-step guide to making your own delectable daal and chawal.

Table of Contents

Things We Need

Daal lentils: 1 cup mix (I like to mix masoor and chana but usually people mix masoor and moong. Again ratio could be as per your choice. It could be equal, half, or whatever)

Chawal rice (basmati from Pakistan): 2 cups

Onion: 1 medium coarsely sliced

Garlic: 8-10 cloves

Tomato: 1 medium chopped

Water: around 3 liters (or as needed)

Red pepper: 1/2 teaspoon

Red chili flakes: to taste

Green Chilies: 4-5 chopped

Salt: to taste

Turmeric: 1/2 teaspoon

Garam Masala: for seasoning 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander/Cilantro: 2 tablespoons (chopped)

Oil: 3/4 cup

How It Would Be Done

Soak the lentils for half an hour roughly. Heat a medium-sized pot. Add water to the pot, roughly around a liter or so, and let it heat up. Add soaked lentils into the warm water and let it boil. On the other stove heat another pot for rice boiling. There is no measurement of water for rice boiling as we will throw excessive water once the rice has boiled to avoid extra starch; you can cook rice as per your desire. As I mentioned in my ingredient list, I use basmati rice in my cooking just because of its rich flavor and aroma. You can use any other kind of your choice. Add some salt in rice, around a teaspoon. As soon as the rice is soft drain the extra water from it. Run cold water thoroughly to get rid of residual starch then put them back in the same pot, cover them, and let them sit for 6-8 minutes on low heat. I prefer to reheat them at serving time, again, no complications, go with your preferences.

On the other hand, add spices to the daal. I like to add onion, tomato, and green chilies along with dry spices. I will use 2-3 cloves of garlic at this time the rest will be added separately in a typically Pakistani style which I will discuss later. Add some oil to the pot and let it cook. Once you realize that the grains are getting merged with the spices it’s time to heat a pan for Tarka. It is quite a strange word for many people. Basically, tarka is a typical seasoning style of Pakistan and many other countries and there are so many variations in it. For this dish, I prefer to make tarka with the help of oil and garlic. Heat half a cup of oil in a pan add coarsely chopped garlic and let it fry until it gets medium brown. Once the garlic is done turn the flame off and pour the mixture of oil and garlic into the daal. Garnish it with garam masala and chopped cilantro before serving.

Enjoy!!