Sookhi Urad dal is Punjabi style dry dal recipe that is cooked with Skinless Urad dal with spices and a typical Punjabi tadka or tempering. As the name Sookhi Urad dal suggests, Unlike other Punjabi Dal dishes this Urad dal is cooked dry ( sookhi means dry). It’s a gluten-free, vegan, protein-rich wholesome dal preparation to serve with Paratha or chapati. Urad dal or skinless black gram dal is cooked with a few spices because otherwise, this may taste bland. So a good tadka / tempering goes long way in making this flavourful dal that looks more like a dry sabzi than a regular dal which looks like curry.
Ingredients You Need
Some of you have asked me about looking at the quantity used of spices and oil, does it makes the difference in terms of taste or health factor of the dish. Yes! definitely, it does. Every little thing that you put inside your body matters. And do you know sometimes the spices you use (especially the coloured ones) have lots of chemicals in them, so Yes even small quantities matter.
What is Sookhi Urad Dal?
Urad Dal, also known as black gram, is a lentil that is rich in fiber and beneficial for bone health, among other nutritional benefits. It’s widely used in Indian cuisine to make a variety of dishes. There are different types of urad dal available in the market - whole black urad (sabut urad), split urad (chilka urad), and white urad (dhuli urad). For this sookhi dal recipe, we’ll be using skinless white urad dal (dhuli urad).
Preparing the Dal
Before cooking, it’s important to soak the urad dal. This reduces the cooking time and makes the dal easier to digest. Once soaked, the dal is cooked with water, salt, asafoetida, chopped green chilis. Another important thing to do before cooking urad dal is to soak it in hot water. That makes it super easy to cook dal without pressure cooker. It is a fail proof method to cook urad dal that is fluffy and has a perfect texture. In pressure cooker even 2-3 minutes extra can easily ruin the texture. So I prefer this no pressure cooker method.
Can you Cook This in Pressure Cooker
I cook the dal with water salt and hing in the pressure cooker and then after that add tadka on top and cook it little more so that it absorbs the flavours of tadka. While pressure cooking you just have to take care of cooking time because soothe Urad dal is always cooked al-dante, unlike other liquid dal preparations.
The Tadka (Tempering)
Skinless Urad dal is bland. The real magic happens when we add the tadka or tempering. But you really don’t need too many spices here. The characteristic of this dal lies in it’s simplicity. Too many spices can easily over power that. For the main flavour we add Amritsari vadi and that is enough to add required subtle flavours.
A Few Tips for Cooking Punjabi Sookhi Dal
Ensure the urad is soaked for at least 2-3 hours, or it will not cook properly. While cooking do not add too much water. It is a dry dal. It is advisable that you add small amount of water as and when required. This dal recipe is naturally vegan as I have used mustard oil that adds a lot of flavour and taste. If you want you can use ghee, but I reiterate the best taste comes with mustard oil.
What to Serve with Sookhi Urad Dal
I always serve it with Paratha or chapati which makes it even better in taste and nutrition. But this time I did something different too. I had some leftover so in the next morning I topped my toast with dal and a sprinkle of sev. It was sooo good!
More Such Recipes
If you like to try out some of other traditional Indian Dal Recipes you can check out: there are lots and lots of other Dal recipes and dishes made with Dal/lentils which you might like to try in Dal / Lentil recipe section.
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