Best Pigeon Pea Paste Aka Arhar Dal Or Toovar Dal Recipes

PIGEON PEA PASTE (AKA ARHAR DAL OR TOOVAR DAL)

Pigeon Pea Paste (Aka Arhar Dal or Toovar Dal) image

Entered for ZWT. This is a staple of South Indian cuisine, found in Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian", used as a launching pad for other recipes. This recipe describes the basic preparation of these round, dull yellow peas with an earthy, dark flavor in their hulled and split forms. The plants in the northern part of India produce Arhar Dal; in the southern part of India: Toovar Dal. Every day a different stew is made with these. If using "oily toovar", wash it very thoroughly before cooking to remove the castor oil coating. Note that dried peas double in size after cooking. This paste will last 1 week tightly covered in the refrigerator; in Indian households, it is used everyday. If the next recipe requires draining of the peas, save the cooking liquid for soup. Preparation time is soaking time. Cooking time is estimated total time once in pressure cooker to come up to pressure and cook, but does not include natural release time.

Provided by KateL

Categories Lentil

Time 8h35m

Yield 6 cups, 24 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 3

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs dried whole pigeon peas (3 cups)
6 cups water
3 drops canola oil (to prevent foaming if using pressure cooker)

Steps:

Pick over the peas and wash them well. Drain. Soak the peas overnight in water to cover by 5 inches. Drain, discard soaking liquid.
PRESSURE COOKER METHOD:.
Put the drained peas in a pressure cooker and cover with water by 1/2 inch. Add a few drops of cooking oil to prevent foaming. Put the lid on and bring up to pressure. Cook for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure to drop by itself.
NON-PRESSURE COOK METHOD:.
Put the drained peas in a medium pan along with water to cover them by 2 inches and bring it to a boil. Cover partially, turn the heat down to low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 97.4, Fat 0.4, SaturatedFat 0.1, Sodium 6.6, Carbohydrate 17.8, Fiber 4.3, Protein 6.2

TOOR DAL (SPLIT YELLOW PIGEON PEAS)

Toor Dal (Split Yellow Pigeon Peas) image

Dal can be made with all kinds of lentils and cooking methods. These vary not just from region to region, but also from day to day, mood to mood. Some cooks like dal soupy, others chunky. There are dals for special occasions, seasoned with charcoal smoke and butter or padded out luxuriously with cream, as well as lighter, leaner dals that can restore you when you're not feeling well.The flavor of this everyday, Gujarati-style dal comes from the pure nuttiness of split pigeon peas, boiled until tender and bolstered with spices bloomed in hot ghee. This fat-tempering technique, called vaghar in Gujarati, has many names and many uses across the country. In this case, the tempering is a great introduction to the resourcefulness and finesse of Indian home cooks: Just a few tablespoons of carefully seasoned fat, tipped in at the very last moment, transform an entire pot.

Provided by Tejal Rao

Categories dinner, soups and stews, main course, side dish

Time 4h

Yield 4 to 6 servings (about 3 cups)

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

1 cup toor dal (split yellow pigeon peas)
2 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup raw whole peanuts
1/4 cup/55 grams ghee
1 sprig fresh curry leaves
3 small pieces Indian cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
3 red dried chiles, such as chile de árbol
3 cloves
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
Pinch of asafoetida

Steps:

Prepare the dal: Soak the pigeon peas in a large bowl of warm water for about 1 hour. (They will have swelled a little.) Thoroughly rinse the soaked pigeon peas with fresh water, then tip the drained pigeon peas into a pot.
Add tomatoes, turmeric, salt and 5 cups water, and bring to a boil over high. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until very tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
Use an immersion blender to purée some of the dal, leaving some intact and getting some very smooth, or whisk vigorously to break up some of the soft dal. Stir in the peanuts and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the dal is very tender, about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust with salt. If the dal has become too thick for your liking, stir in a splash of water.
Prepare the tempering: In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the ghee. When hot, carefully add all of the tempering ingredients (the mustard seeds will sputter!) and swirl the pan until you can smell all the toasted spices, about 30 seconds. Pour everything over the hot dal.

BASIC TOOVAR DAL OR ARHAR DAL

Basic Toovar Dal or Arhar Dal image

Entered for ZWT. From Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian". After the pigeon paste has been prepared using Recipe #483388 #483388, the hulled and split pigeon peas are always cooked with a little turmeric. Salt is added at the very end. Again, this recipe is a launching pad for the Indian stew of the day. Once cooked, lightly boiled or sauteed vegetables may be added. For Indian dishes, a final tarka is also added unless feeding the sick, the elderly or young children.

Provided by KateL

Categories Lentil

Time 1h25m

Yield 1 cup, 4 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 3

Ingredients

1 cup toor dal (Pigeon Pea Paste (Aka Arhar Dal or Toovar Dal) #483388)
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 -1 1/4 teaspoon salt

Steps:

Pick over the hulled and split pigeon peas from Recipe #483388 #483388. Wash in several changes of water, and drain.
Put the split peas and 4 cups of water in a heavy-bottomed pan and bring to a boil. Watch carefully to prevent the contents of the pot from boiling over. Skim off the froth that rises to the top.
Add the turmeric and stir once. Cover partially, turn the heat down to low, and cook very gently for 1 hour, or until the beans are tender. (Older beans may take up to 1 1/2 hours.
Add the salt and stir to mix.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 169.9, Fat 0.5, SaturatedFat 0.1, Sodium 584.3, Carbohydrate 28.9, Fiber 14.7, Sugar 1, Protein 12.4

PASTA IN A SPLIT PEA SAUCE (DAL DHOKLI)

Pasta in a Split Pea Sauce (Dal Dhokli) image

Entered for ZWT. By Neeru Row Kavi, found in Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian". From pre-history Indus valley civilization, when the area was known for its cultivation of wheat and split peas. It is a staple today, even in the desert areas. It is a spicy, thick split pea soup with wide noodles that is more main dish than soup. Serve for lunch or supper with a simple green salad. The split peas should be toovar dal to be most authentic. The noodles are traditionally homemade, cut from large rounds of rolled-out whole wheat dough, the same as used for chapatis (Indian Griddle Flatbreads, Recipe#483402 #483402). These rounds are then cut into noodles, left to dry off briefly, and then dropped into the soup. Less authentic, fettuccine or egg noodles may be substituted. The tomatoes in this recipe would have been added to the recipe after the 16th century. Jaffrey peels the tomatoes with a sharp paring knife as if they were apples. The sauce can be made ahead of time.

Provided by KateL

Categories Vegetable

Time 1h44m

Yield 6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 19

Ingredients

1 cup toor dal (see Pigeon Pea Paste (Aka Arhar Dal or Toovar Dal) #483388)
2 tablespoons peanut oil or 2 tablespoons canola oil
1 pinch of ground asafoetida powder (generous pinch) or 1 garlic clove (finely chopped, less authentic, and added after the cumin seeds and stirred once or twice before add)
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1 1/4 lbs ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 -2 fresh hot green chili, finely chopped (do not remove seeds)
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or 4 tablespoons fresh coriander
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 water, to cook tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water, for final cooking with lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 quarts water
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
3/4 lb chapati pasta (made from dough from Recipe#483402 #483402) or 3/4 lb fettuccine (less authentic)
3 tablespoons peanut oil or 3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon whole brown mustard seeds or 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 whole hot red chili pepper, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon salt

Steps:

Put the toovar dal (tour dal is closest ingredient name on food.com) and 3 cups of water in a heavy pan and bring to a boil. Cover partially, turn the heat down to low, and simmer very gently for 1 hour. Close the lid for the last 15 minutes. Mash the dal against the sides of the pan and set aside.
Put the 2 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan or saute pan and set over medium-high heat.
When hot, put in the asafetida.
Five seconds later, put in the cumin seeds.
Wait another 5 seconds and put in the tomatoes. Stir the tomatoes for a minute.
Now add the turmeric and mix it inches.
Add the green chile, cilantro, salt, and 3/4 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for 7-8 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft.
Now add the tomatoes to the cooked dal.
Add another 1 1/2 cups of water and the lemon juice. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer 15 minutes. THIS MUCH CAN BE DONE AHEAD OF TIME AND THE SOUP REHEATED WHEN NEEDED.
Just before you sit down to eat, bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large pot.
Add 1 1/2 tablespoons salt and stir. Drop in pasta and stir.
While the pasta cooks, put the 3 tablespoons of oil in a small pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds pop, a matter of seconds, put in the chile.
Stir once or twice, or until the chile darkens, and pour the oil and seasonings into a large bowl.
Add about 1/2 teaspoon salt to the mustard seed-chile mixture and mix.
As soon as the pasta is ready, drain it and put it into the bowl with the oil. Toss thoroughly.
To serve, stir the soup from the bottom and put about 3/4 cup in each of 6 soup plates. Divide the pasta into 6 portions and put a mound in the center of each plate. Serve immediately.