- dhal, Fermented food, foodie, Recipe, Sauerkraut
- My Store Admin
Black dal with Not Your Nana's Piccalilli Kraut
This is a special recipe because it's Dishoom's house black dal. If you've never been to this Bombay restaurant it's well worth checking out next time you're in Edinburgh, London or Birmingham. Drool-worthy, spice-kissed gorgeousness awaits!
Urad dal can sometimes be hard to come across but we found a giant bag of them in our local Asian supermarket, which supplies a lot of ingredients for Indian cooking. Urad dal is a small bean with a black outer coating and white inside that gets very creamy when cooked, giving the delicious thick texture to the finished dal.
This is also a neat dish to get more plant protein and fibre into your diet, which when topped off with a helping of live cultures from our Not Your Nana's Piccalilli Kraut makes for a damn fine gut-friendly meal!
Because it takes a bit of time to prepare we'd recommend making a double batch so that you can freeze some for later and enjoy over and over again.
Ingredients (serves 5)
Urad dal x 300g (also known as mungo or urad beans)
Garlic, pureed x 12g
Ginger, pureed x 10g
Tomato paste x 70g
Salt x 1 tsp
Chilli powder x 2/3 tsp
Garam masala x 1/3 tsp
Butter x 90g
Double cream x 90ml
Not Your Nana's Piccalilli Kraut x 200g
To serve... chapatis, roti, flatbread etc
Method
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Place dal in a colander or sieve and rinse with water until the water runs clear
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Place in a large saucepan (or pressure cooker) and add 4 litres of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 hours (1-1.5 hours in a pressure cooker). If any scum rises to the surface, skim it off with a spoon. Add more water if needed
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When you can smush the grains between your fingers and it inside is creamy, you're good to go. Turn off the heat and leave to one side for 15 mins.
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In a bowl mix together the garlic, ginger, tomato, salt and spices
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Pour off the cooking water on the dal and add freshly boiled water, enough to cover the dal by 3cm
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Bring to a boil and lower to medium high. Add the spice paste and butter and stir well, cooking for roughly 30 mins - stir often.
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Lower the heat and simmer for another hour, stirring regularly and adding more water if the liquid gets low. you're looking for a thick, creamy consistency as the grains start to breakdown.
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Add the cream, cook for a further 15 mins and serve topped with a healthy spoonful of Not Your Nana's Piccalilli Kraut!
Have a go? We want to know! Tag us @craftypickleco on Facebook and Instagram🙏
