Saayi dal, split moong dal pressure cooked with tomatoes and chilies and tempered with garlic. A delicious comfort food served with rice and a dollop of ghee.
Dal-chawal is the staple food of India. We enjoy pizza, pasta, wraps and rolls, but we come home to our simple dal-chawal and our hearts and worries melt away in that small plate of hot rice and dal, served with a dollop of ghee.
Sindhi style saayi dal, simple split moong dal with skin pressure cooked with tomatoes, chilies and salt and tempered with mustard, cumin and garlic. This saayi dal, turns out super creamy and finger-licking good. Whenever i make, my elder one is happy to enjoy it with rice for all 3 meals.
How i make it?
I use split green moong dal with skin known as chilke wali moong dal. Soak the dal for 15 minutes in water. When soaked, the skin might come off, but i usually strain just the water and add the skin back to the dal. Straining the skin off is your personal choice.
Add the dal to a pressure cooker, along with chopped tomatoes, green chilies and salt. I add 2-3 tbsp of fresh coconut, which is not used in the original recipe, so feel free to skip it, but i love coconut in my saayi dal.
Pressure cook fro 4-5 whistles, let the pressure fall naturally. Heat a tadka pan with oil, splutter mustard seeds, add red chilies, curry leaves, chopped garlic and ginger, let the garlic brown and finally add cumin seeds. Pour this sizzling tadka over the dal, give it a good mix and serve it hot with rice.
The Ingredients
- Split moong dal with skin, I have read that whole green moong can also be used, but i have made this sai dal only with split green moong with skin.
- Spices, green chilies, ginger and garlic are the only spices used this recipe. The dal is cooked with tomtoes, ginger and chilies.
- Tempering, the garlic tadka adds whole lot of flavor to this dal. Curry leaves and cumin adds lot of texture to the dish.
Saayi Dal | How to make Sindhi Style Moong dal
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup split moong dal with skin Chilke wale moong dal
- 3 nos green chilies
- 1 no medium-sized tomato chopped
- 3 tbsp fresh coconut optional, check notes
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- fresh coriander for garnish
Tempering
- 2 tsp Oil any vegetable oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds/kadugu
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 2 nos red chilies broken into two
- 3 nos garlic cloves chopped fine
- 1 tsp ginger julienned
- a sprig of curry leaf
Instructions
- Wash and soak the dal for 15 minutes in water. Strain any excess water and keep aside until use.
- Heat a pressure cooker with a tsp of oil, add green chilies, chopped tomatoes. Dump the strained dal, add turmeric, salt and coconut.
- Add 3 cups of water to this dal mixture and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. Let the pressure fall naturally. Then open the cooker and give the dal a good mix.
- Let us add the tadka, heat a small tadka pan with oil, splutter mustard seeds, add broken red chilies, curry leaves. Add chopped garlic and ginger to this and let the garlic brown well. finally add cumin to the hot tadka, give it a stir.
- Pour this sizzling tadka over the dal and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve the dal with steaming hot rice.
Notes
- Coconut is not added to the original recipe, since i love coconut in my dal, i have used it here.
- Ginger is added while pressure cooking the dal with tomatoes and chilies. But i love to add it to my tadka. So, feel free to use it either while pressure cooking or in the tadka.
Serve this simple, yet delicious dal with steaming hot rice. Whenever i make dal, i make a simple stir-fry to pair with it.
If you have tried this recipe and like it, give it a star rating or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #icampinmmykitchen and tagging me @priyasrinivasan
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healthy delicious dal.
love the garlic thadka…
Thick dal makes me drool..Wat a wonderful spread,inviting.
pictures look so amazing. makes me want to grab a spoon and dig in
very beautiful clicks, and nice and simple recipe
That dal looks so satisfying. Some papad pickle @ rice just completes it.
Such a simple and comforting dal. Looks delicious.
Lovely pictures…and no one can say to such simple and comforting dals..
Comforting dal.
Very comforting to have moong dal like this!!
This is one of the simplest daals cooked in Sindhi homes..and who can say it has been cooked by a S Indian..u rock Priya!