Name: Dal Chawal
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 100 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup Toor Dal; 1 tbsp Oil; 1 tbsp Ghee; 1 tsp Cumin Seeds; 1 Bay Leaf; 1 Cinnamon Stick; 2.5 cups Rice (Long grain, rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes); 5 cups Water (Boiled); 2.5 tsp Salt; 2lb Lamb Shoulder or Leg (Cut into chunks); 2 tbsp Oil; 3 tsp Salt; 1 small Onion (Chopped into chunks); 1 large Cinnamon Stick; 12 Cloves; 10 Black Peppercorns; 10 Green Cardamoms; 2 Star Anise; 1 tsp Turmeric Powder; 2 cups Oily Toor Daal; 1 inch Ginger (Crushed); 4 cloves Garlic (Crushed); 2 Dry Red Chillies (Cracked slightly); 1 piece Dagar na Phool; 1 tbsp Oil; 1 tbsp Ghee; 2 Cinnamon Sticks; 3 Bay Leaves; 6 Black Peppercorns; 6 Cloves

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My ultimate comfort food – this is a dish we grew up on. Dal Chawal or Dal Gosh Pilau is a delicious meal with succulent pieces of tender lamb in a creamy aromatic dal. This is a recipe from my mum and it is delicious!

Bharuchi Dal Chawal

This recipe has been coming to the site forever.

It is a recipe I send out to loved ones all the time.

I am Bharuchi (from the Baruch district in India) and my husband is Surti (from the Surat district in India).

Surti Dal Chawal is different to Bharuchi Dal Chawal.

Some people prefer Bharuchi Dal Chawal to Surti Dal Chawal and so I am often asked for this recipe.

So much so that I have it saved in my phone to send out any time I am asked for it.

Lentils

Lentils are a healthy, nourishing and cheap option for lunch/dinner.

They have a high protein content, but also contain a good amount of starch and carbohydrate.

What makes Dal Chawal so special?

Dal Chawal is very flavourful and comforting. To me it screams home.

It is so much more then a plate of food.

It is Mum, Dad, Siblings and LOADS of screaming kids running around as high as kites because Nani gave them all sweets.

It is joy, laughter, teasing, pinching, games and straining to hear your thoughts in a room packed to the brim with humans.

This dish is usually made on special occasions like weddings or Eid.

It is also made regularly in some homes just on a normal day or on a Friday (Jumuah), which is a special day for Muslims.

t is served with papad, kachumber salad, and pickles.

How to make Dal Chawal?

For the Rice - Rinse and boil 1/4 cup toor daal.

You can use red lentils instead if you prefer. They don't need pre cooking.

Add oil and ghee to a pan over medium heat.

Add cumin seeds and daal.

Then stir in the rice.

Now add twice the amount of of water to rice. Add salt.

Bring to a simmer and when most of the water has gone, cover the pot and leave till cooked.

For the Daal -

Wash the meat (I use 2lb shoulder).

I prefer shoulder meat because it is the most tender part but with leg meat - you get more for your money and it is moist too. Just not as moist.

Add enough water to cover the lamb and add 1 tbsp of oil with 3 tsp salt, 1 small chopped onion, 1 large cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, star anise, Turmeric Powder, 2 cups oily toor daal, Ginger or 1 cube frozen ginger cube, 2 cube frozen Garlic or 4 Garlic Cloves crushed.

Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 1 - 1.5 hours or until the toor daal has completely broken down. You can also put it in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes.

In a seperate pot make the Masala -

Heat oil/ghee, then add whole spices - cinnamon, bay leaves (I forgot to add them at this stage), black and green cardamom, cloves and peppercorns.

Add 2 chopped onions and a handful of Dagar na pool. This is the key ingredient. If you smell it, you will smell the fragrance of Dal Chawal.

Once the onions have browned, add fenugreek leaves (fresh if you have it otherwise dry is fine), ginger, garlic and green chilli. Cook for a couple of minutes on medium low.

Add tomato, 1.5 tsp cumin powder, 1.5 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp turmeric, red chilli, mace (optional), 1/2 tsp garam masala powder, 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (optional). Simmer on low until the oil separates from the tomato.

When the daal is done - add the masala to it.

The point I realised that I forgot about the bay leaves. I heated them in a dry pan before adding them in!

Storage

Dal Chawal keeps well in an airtight container for up to 3 days and freezes well for up to 2 months.

For sides, try:

Kachumber Salad

Onion Raita

More Rice recipes

Chicken Akni, One Pot Chicken and Rice

Chicken Pulao

Keema Rice

One Pot Peri Peri Chicken and Rice

One Pot Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice

**If you make this recipe, please tag us on instagram.

I also think that I will make a video for this because it sounds so much more daunting then it is.

4.92 from 12 votes

Dal Chawal

Course Dinner, Lunch/Dinner

Cuisine Bharuchi, Indian, South Asian

Keyword Bharuchi Dal Chawal, Dal Chawal

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 247 kcal

Author Safira

Ingredients

Rice

1/4 cup Toor Dal
1 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Ghee
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Bay Leaf
1 Cinnamon Stick
2.5 cups Rice Long grain, rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes
5 cups Water Boiled
2.5 tsp Salt

Dal

2lb Lamb Shoulder or Leg Cut into chunks
2 tbsp Oil
3 tsp Salt
1 small Onion Chopped into chunks
1 large Cinnamon Stick
12 Cloves
10 Black Peppercorns
10 Green Cardamoms
2 Star Anise
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 cups Oily Toor Daal
1 inch Ginger Crushed
4 cloves Garlic Crushed
2 Dry Red Chillies Cracked slightly
1 piece Dagar na Phool

Masala

1 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Ghee
2 Cinnamon Sticks
3 Bay Leaves
6 Black Peppercorns
6 Cloves
6 Green Cardamom Pods slightly cracked
2 Black Cardamoms
1 Star Anise
2 large Onions chopped finely
Handful Dagar na Phool
2 tbsp Dry Fenugreek
1 inch Ginger crushed
4 - 8 cloves Garlic crushed
2 Green Chillies slit down the middle
250 ml Plum Tomato Tin Pureed
1.5 tsp Coriander Powder
1.5 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 - 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 peice Mace Or 1/4 tsp Ground Mace
1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder

Instructions

Rice

Rinse and boil 1/4 cup toor daal for 20 minutes.
Add oil and ghee to a pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds, bay leaf and cinnamon stick and once frangrant and spluttering stir in the rice. Cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the water and add the salt and boiled toor daal.
Bring the rice to a quick boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for approximately 5 - 15 minutes (this time really depends on the rice you are using), till all the water has evaporated and the rice is cooked through. Top with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Dal

Add all the ingredients for the Dal to a large pot. Cover with enough water to cover all the ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 1 - 1.5 hours or until the toor daal has completely broken down. You can also put it all in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes instead.

Masala

Heat oil/ghee in a pot over high heat.
Add whole spices - star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, black and green cardamom, cloves and peppercorns.
Add the chopped onions and a handful of Dagar na pool. Turn the heat down to medium/low.
Once the onions have browned (about 20 minutes over medium/low), add fenugreek, ginger, garlic and green chilli. Cook for a couple of minutes on medium low.
Add pureed tomato, 1.5 tsp cumin powder, 1.5 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp turmeric, red chilli, mace (optional), 1/2 tsp garam masala powder, 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (optional).
Simmer on low until the oil separates from the tomato. (The best way to do this is by covering and cooking on low for 15 - 20 minutes).
When the daal is done and broken down - add the masala to it and 1/2 cup water. Simmer on low for 10 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Dagar na pool - Can be found in South Asian supermarkets. This is a key ingredient. You can skip cardamom powder and mace powder.

Oily Toor Dal and Toor Dal are 2 different Dals and can't be used interchangeably. There are links in the post to show the ingredients.

Using a pressure cooker to cook the Dal, will reduce the time to cook significantly. 30 minutes is enough in the pressure cooker.

Dal - If the Dal isn't broken down completely, you can remove the meat from the pot and blend using a stick blender.

Meat - You can use Chicken instead of Lamb.

Nutrition Facts

Dal Chawal

Amount Per Serving

Calories 247 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Fat 6g9%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 4mg1%

Sodium 1292mg56%

Potassium 100mg3%

Carbohydrates 43g14%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 38mg4%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Dal Chawal

Bharuchi Dal Chawal

Lentils

What makes Dal Chawal so special?