Royal Bengali Style Onion Dal

In Bengali cuisine dal is cooked very simply and spice use is very less. The regular dal is bit bland in nature but it is accompanied by fried food which helps to adjust the taste balance. Today I am sharing with you a special a bit royal style dal which is not too spicy but not as bland as the regular one .It is loaded with the aroma of clarified butter fried onion with the sweet flavor of fennel and cumin. I am sure you all will love it.

Preparation time :  10 minutes
Cooking time :  15 minutes 
Serves : 4 to 6  

Ingredients : 
1 cup dhuli urad dal 
2 big onion sliced 
½ tsp  whole  cumin seed
¼ tsp fennel seed
1 big tomato  chopped 
½  tsp  turmeric powder
¼ tsp red chili powder
¼ tsp  hing /aseofitida 
2 tbsp  ghee
4 to 5 cups  water
½ tsp sugar (optional)
salt  to taste 

Methods of  Cooking

Clean and wash the urad dal well. Take the clean urad dal in a pressure cooker with 4 to 5 cups water. Pressure cooks it till the dal is completely cooked. Now in a frying pan take 1 tbsp of ghee fry one big sliced onion till golden. Keep aside. Take a khadhai and heat 1 tbsp ghee. Add cumin, fennel seed. When you get the sweet aroma of the fried cumin and fennel seed add another sliced onion and fry till little golden then add chopped tomato, salt, turmeric, chilly powder and sugar. Fry till the tomato is pulpy and if the masala get too dry add 2 tbsp of cooked dal. Fry the masala well. Now add the whole cooked dal and mixed well with the masala. Let it come to boil. Dish the dal and sprinkle the fried onion over it. Yummy royal style onion dal is ready to serve. Have it with plain steamed rice or with roti or paratha. You can take Bengali Beguni ( fried eggplant ) or crispy fried potatoes(aloo bhaja) as an accompaniment to complete the platter.

Happy Cooking!