Thursday, April 19, 2007

Tak er Dal | Mango Dal


Tak er Dal, Tok er Dal, Tauk Dal

Tok er Dal | Mango Dal | Aam Dal

Tok er Dal or Tauk dal,  a Dal with green mangoes, slightly sour and sweet is a favorite Bengali dal to serve during the hot summer months. It is usually made with Mator Dal(Yellow spilt peas) though in my recipe I often use a mix of Red Masoor and Mator Dal.



Tak Dal with Masoor Dal -- This is another version of the Tok er dal but with Red Masoor and spiced with paanchphoron

Beginning of each week, I start off singing “A B C D…” to myself while little S looks on quizzically. No I am not trying to teach her alphabets and neither have I taken the role of Cookie Monster. I am trying to remind myself of the letter of the week for Nupur’s A-Z of Indian Vegetables.

I start the week searching for an Indian Dish with the said letter whatever that might be. But I want to think up a nice exotic Bengali Name, or maybe a more exquisite Sanskrit One, or even one in Pali in my search of something different. I want the name to be lyrical, difficult to pronounce, a name that would give others no clue as to what I am talking about. I might be talking about my every day dal-chawal but I want a name like Lens Culinaris to adorn it.

What’s in a Name you would say or rather Shakespeare would say. But then Shakespeare never knew about k – K – Kkusm did he? Neither did he know of some of my esteemed Blogger friends who took the extreme step to change their names mid-way of their dazzling Blogging careers and some who are contemplating to change theirs. So as I say theirs lot in a name.

When I hear a lyrical name like “Ghugra”, I have a vision of Rajasthani Women dancing in their colourful “Ghahgras” and I desperately want to eat whatever “Ghugra” is. Same with a name like “Mor Khuzambhu”, the name says it all, I want to yell “Dil Mange More” like Aamir Khan did and even add a “Aha” at the end.

So as I chomped on my “Lau Ghonto” last week I was still searching for the “L” word…
But this week I am adamant, I let Lau (Lauki in Hindi) pass just because the name seemed very next door-ish but no not this week. I am not going to search for any veggie dish with “M” and let the week pass. I am going to send Nupur whatever I am having for lunch and she better like my regular Dal-Chawal with M for Mango thrown in. And hey whats better the dal I cooked is Matar Dal (Yellow Split Peas) , one more M, so that makes it M squared for Nupur’s A-Z of Indian Vegetables.


Tok er dal, Bengali Mango Dal, aaam dal

Tok er Dal | Mango Dal | Aam Dal

Tak er Dal in Bengali means a Dal which is a little sour in taste. Tamarind not being used much in Bengali cuisine its the green mango which is used to achieve the desired sourness. Mango Dal is a simple Dal cooked with raw green Mangoes usually during the hot hot summer months in India. It had to be cooked during summer because that was the Mango Season of course. Its beautiful how we always associated certain foods with season in India because of their sole availability during those times.

My beloved “Patel Brothers” manages to get his share of Raw Mangoes all year round so I can afford to eat Mango Dal with my fireplace on. Doesn’t have just the same effect though. Mango Dal and White Rice on a hot summer afternoon with the windows shut, the draperies drawn to hush the harsh light and the fan on the ceiling humming and stirring the hot humid air is just another story

Updated on 05/11/2016: Both my girls love this mango dal, however they always insist that the tauk er dal made by Didun (my Mom) tastes better. I have been dilligently working on this recipe since last summer and appears I did hit the nail this time.n I have updated the recipe with the changes.



Read more...




Tok er dal | Mango Daal



What You Need

Matar Dal (Yellow Split Peas) ~ 1/2 Cup (In absence of this try only with Masoor Dal)
Red Masoor Dal ~ 1/2 Cup
Water ~ 2-3 cup to cook the dal in pressure cooker

Raw Green Mango ~ 1 chopped into thick slices. Depending on your love for sourness and the sourness of the mangoes you might want to increase this amount. Decerasing is not a good option though
Green Chillies ~ 4 slit

Mustard seeds ~ 3/4th tsp
Turmeric ~ ½ tsp
Salt ~ according to taste
Sugar ~ 2 tsp. More if you are a sweet Bong :D like my Ma
Mustard Oil ~ to cook

Water ~ 2 cups or more
Ghee ~ 1 tsp to finish off

How I Did It

Wash the Dal and pressure cook with twice the amount of water. Time taken to pressure cook is little more than Masoor Dal but less than Toor Dal. Now go figure.
In my Futura pressure cooker it took 4 minutes. In a regular pressure cooker about 3 whistles.

Meanwhile peel the green mango and chop into longitudinal thick pieces
Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan
Add 3/4th tsp of Mustard seeds and 4 slit green chillies
The mustards will splutter so cover it if you are afraid
Add the mango pieces and sprinkle 1/2 tsp of turmeric.
Sauté the mango for a 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle little water and cover to cook mangoes until firm but almost done..

Whisk the pressure cooked Dal with a Wire Whisk or Spoon and add it to the Kadhai
Mix well and cook for a minute.
Add about 2 cups of water and salt and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook. You may need to add a little more water if the dal turns too thick. The result should not be watery though.
Cook till the mangoes are fully mushy.

Add 2 tsp of sugar and take it off the heat
Have it with White Rice and any other veggies on the side. A tsp of Ghee adds to the taste of this Dal.




Note: Matar Dal is not same as Chana Dal though both look almost same. You can also try this recipe with Masoor Dal but never with Chana Dal . When using Masoor Dal a popular spice for tempering is Kalo Jeera or Kalonji



Trivia:The yellow Split Peas or Matar Dal have an earthier flavor than green peas. Scandinavians like to use them in soups, while the British use them in their pease pudding. It's best to buy them split, since split peas don't need to be soaked and cook fairly quickly. Source:Cook's Thesarus

57 comments:

  1. Hi Sandeepa, its so delightful to see this recipe. My mom makes mango dal too and i know that lot of telugus make it...no idea even bongs made it!

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  2. Sandeepa nice writeup. i think its time i try this recipe, have never used mango with dhall before!

    i love mangoes yummy!

    Thanks

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  3. Sandeepa, lovely post. In Vietnam, we sometimes use green mango as the sour agent, too. We even make salad out of it, which is yummy. I bet your dhal must taste good!

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  4. Sandeepa, although I never taste tak dal, your beautiful dish already make me drooooool....
    I was lucky to have a mango tree in yard when I lived in Singapore, too bad I didn;t try cooking Indian food that time. But I saved all green mangos to my mailman who was a very kind Indian guy.

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  5. Wow, I really admire your dedication to the A - Z event! Wish I could camp out at your place, heh heh! Such imagination! As it is, I think too much about food, but can't pull this off because my cooking is very mood-driven! :) At best, I'll find out how to say "garlic" in different languages and name the dish according to the letter of the week, heh heh..

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  6. Pali? Ha ha ha ha ha - you've no idea how much that made me laugh, and I never think about Pali unless I'm visiting some historical site, nowadays. H I L A R I O U S! We Telugus make a mean mango daal too, with toor daal, but. And we leave the seed in the daal, that's the piece de resistance!

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  7. I love Mango dal sandeepa, ur's is slightly different to what i usually make.
    looks so delicious

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  8. arreey darrooon daarooon. We've only just started getting mangoes now. So Toker Dal, it will be for the weekend ;) Thanks a lot.

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  9. Tak daal is always yummy and a lovely thought for all of us in North India roasting under a scortching 42 degrees celsius.

    But found the A-Z of Indian vegetables even more inspiring. Good Idea. Thanks.

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  10. Mango and Scorching sun, both go together don't they. I make Mango Sambhar no tamarind in that one, but have never tried it with just dal. Now I debating should I make this or the Mango thokku?

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  11. Hahaha!! I loved the write up the Sandeepa.Mango dal looks gorgeous,and I love the little Kadai there too.Patels are the best grocers,we have them here but have to drive at least 100 miles!:D

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  12. thats a lovely and delicious looking dal. must be tasting great. we make it in andhra in quite similar way. my MIL makes delicious mango dals.
    will try out your way.

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  13. Sandeepa, I've had mango dal with masur dal...really love the tangy taste...

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  14. Like it? I *love* it! Lens culinaris with Mangifera indica...how can one not?? You have such a way with words, Sandeepa. This post made my day!

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  15. hahaha...Shakespeare and Kkusum...and dil maange more.....hahahhaha....you crack me up. Mango daal and hot rice on a summer afternoon,underneath the Zenith Fan....yes, it indeed is another story...you have the art of making anyone nostalgic.

    Mango daal looks lovely..sometimes, I add dried whole mango pieces (amboliya) in my specialty Gujju daal, takes it to a whole new level.
    thanks for your note in my blog...

    trupti

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  16. Appu
    I think the taste will be different for both :)

    Roopa
    Mango with Dal is yummy

    Anh
    Mango salad would be very refershing. I love the Malaysian Mango Shrimp/Chicken

    Gattina
    Wow would loved to be the mailman :)

    Shilpa
    Don't worry, same here. Its just that I was doing this anyway that I am sending it to Nupur. Even mine is driven by my modd. But some of these events are exciting and so I try to mould my mood ;-)

    Sra
    We leave the seed too. This one was too tender and had a tender seed. I love to suck on the seed !!!

    Padmaja
    Shall try your version next

    Priya
    paka aam eshe geche bajar e ?

    BWM
    Check out the A-Z at Nupur's place. Lots of innovative stuff happens there

    Indo
    Mango thokku...I saw it at Bee's looked great

    Asha
    My Patel Bhai is at a 12 minutes drive. Don't I love him :)

    Sharmi
    Shall check out your MIL's recipe

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  17. After reading ur write-up, I am sure Nupur will accept ur entry :))

    Hmm..patel bro story is right....the only place from where i got the real raw mango!!

    Kerala also has a dal-mango prep but i dont know how it is...its hightime I check that out I guess ;)

    Shn

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  18. Sandeepa, that really cracked me up... U r amazing... :)

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  19. how about posting a slight varation under T called 'tangy mangy dal'?

    i agree with you about the yellow split peas.

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  20. Taker dal aar echoder tarkari is my favorite summer food. Tarpore mishti aar ghoom :) looks delicious sandeepa.

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  21. You, Bad, Bad girl you. Using Kay and me to justify your obsession with lyrical food names. On the other hand, I have never found a bong word that I didn't find lyrical. Seriously, why would you even look anywhere else?

    That's a great write up, Sandeepa. Raw mangoes in my area are not as sour in my area. I end up using double the quantity everytime to get that khatta taste :(

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  22. Yummy Sandeepa. We make mango dal with toor and moong but never tried with split peas.

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  23. HI sandeepa
    We too make this in the same way but we don't use the sugar.I know from one of my bengali friend that "every bengali dish will have sugar in it definitely".:-)

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  24. ha ha ha... thats so funny...err... i thought n think bong words r already lyrical to think for any other lyrical words;) u made my day sandeepa:)

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  25. sandeepa, that took me right back to my home in Kolkata. I don't think I have had tok dal for at least 10 years because I always go back to Kolkata during winter. I need to pressure my local store to stock green mangoes and try this!!

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  26. Oh wow !!!!!Mongo dhal ..Looks grt..

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  27. :)))) you crack me up sandeepa! mango dal looks tangy.

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  28. Sunita
    Same here, mostly its Masoor for me too. This time I tried with Matar as it is more authentic it seems. I don't even buy Matar Dal regularly

    Nupur
    Thats a lovely name. Love it, no wonder you have a PhD

    TS
    God tos ee you. It would be Polar I think for us or Usha


    Shn
    But as Vee said sometimes the mangoes are not "khatta" enough here. Works ok for me though

    Sig
    Do you need some crazy glue :)

    Bee
    And for S I can go "Sour Mango Dal" and so on but then why oh why I can never cook up a dish called at least "choli" if not "ghugra". No I will not settle for "Chole" :D

    Mandira
    Tomar katha shune ei shomoy tei khide peye jache :)

    Vee
    Thanks for the Bong Word = lyrical compliment, but seriously does "Charchari" sound lyrical ?
    Right about the sourness of Mangoes, even my Ma was saying the same. However our food usually doesn't need a lot of sourness so I am ok

    Shivapriya
    I usually use Masoor but this time tried Yellow Split Peas as it is the more traditional one. Never tried with Toor or Moong yet

    Swapna
    You are so right about the sugar thing. Your friend is a true blue Bong. I have cut my sugar intake and so you will not see much sugar in my food though. But my Ma uses fair amount of sugar in her cooking

    Supriya
    Thanks for your nice idea about Bengali words, its indeed lyrical and rounded

    Mallika
    What no Raw Mango in UK ? And they claim to be the curry chefs ?

    deepa
    Thank you sweetie :)

    Reena
    Like Sig you have to be fixed up too...crazy glue anyone ?

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  29. He he, Sandeepa, the ghughra and ghaghra thing is really funny! btw, tak-er-daal sounds lyrical too :-D. So, what do you call this one in Pali btw :-D.

    You sure have a way with words, sweetie! and i am jealous, you all seem to be enjoying raw mangoes: first Bee, then Sig and now you! If i get raw mangoes, i am going to try all these recipes! meanwhile, amchoor ya dried raw mango slices se kaam chalana padega

    hugs,
    musical.

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  30. aha! Thats awesome! onek din aage I had asked you for it. So happy. I need to go to Patel brothers immediately. :) I am inviting people for lunch on Sunday for a full Bong experience. I will make this daal then :)

    Btw, why did your esteemed friends decide to change their names for blogs? I am contemplating too ...

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  31. Oh btw, Masoor dal when you pressure cook, you should take it of the heat before the first whistle and Toor dal let it be on heat until 3 whistles. So Matar daal is around more than 1 whistle.

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  32. Sandeepa, that looks so good. I am drooling over the picture...slurp slurp...Mango must be making it out of the world. I have to try this.

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  33. The most popular dal we get in these parts are the yellow and green split peas. Today I went to the supermarket and stock up lots of split peas because I want to experiement with all the dals I see posted here and on other blogs. Thanks for the mango dal. Another one to add to the list.

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  34. hmm, wouldn't you pronounce charchari as chorchori as in not exactly 'o' but kind of rounded out 'a'. I am also guessing the 'ch' is not pronounced the way it is in chair but more like the badi 'ch' in hindi. In that case, it definitely is lyrical. Am I making sense or killing bangla bhasha?

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  35. :-) Good one Sandeepa! Your writeup was a good read. made me smile :-) I am like you, obsessed with Nupur's event.. and I start thinking what are cooking today...with what vegetable! But I'm not as innovative with the names u see :-)
    Love your recipe! sounds simple and unique... I might just have to start cooking some bengali food at home.. what with all the yummy charcharis and the dals :-)

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  36. Hi Sandeepa,
    Thanks for sharing good recipe with my favorite mango.
    I see this also in another blog but not try.
    But this time also try this.
    Nice recipe.
    Good day.
    Kajal

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  37. I hpe this comment goes thru...... Commented last time but it was showing some error!!!!

    Loved ur write up as usual!!!! :) The idea of mango in daal is great!!!

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  38. Hi sandeepa,Think it's the first time in ur blog!Love it!beautiful pictures and presentation...clear illustrations,
    I like the combo of mango and dal...never tried,will surely prepare...

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  39. sooooo..............delightful recipe.noted down all the recipes to my dairy.

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  40. I had once made mango dal using Indiras recipe and it was yum.Sandeepa in what dishes can we use kalonji?have you blogged any recipe using this spice.I have never cooked with this spice and have got a packet to try something with it.

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  41. Musical
    Dried Kachche Aam me woh swad kahan ? :D

    Kausum
    Thanks for the tips. I have a Futira which doesn't whistle :(. Tomar tak er dal kemon holo ?

    Shilpa
    I guess there is a South Indian version of this Dal too, seen it at Indira's

    Cynthia
    I don't use split peas much, this is the first time I bought the. My Ma uses it a lot though at home in Kolkata

    Vee
    You are right about the roundedness, it is "CHORCHORI"
    The "Ch" is like the 6 th letter in Hindi alphabet(the consonants) not the 7th. If you still insist I gladly accept

    Latha
    Nupur's event is a delight though I miss most

    Kaja
    Thanks

    Coffee
    Kya likha tha tumne , ki error de diya ;-)

    Bharathy
    Thanks a lot for your sweet word

    RR Prasad
    Thanks

    Sumitha
    Answered your q. in your blog

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  42. Though I don't usually make daal with mangoes must say I love your version! :-)
    Daal is my ultimate comfort food~

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  43. Sandeepa,
    LOL. Nice post Sandeepa. Unlike you I somehow till date couldn't make it or couldn't participate in the A-Z event. Got to get your kind of dedication I guess. I love the tangy flavor of Mango Dal. Your presentation and that kadai is lovely .

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  44. Hi Sandeepa,
    Looks awesome. loved the write up.Well just loved the kadai too...

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  45. It was brilliant. Actually I used Musoor daal. :-)

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  46. As soon as I saw the picture I sighed. It looks so delicious. I've never had mango in dal and now I won't be happy until I do. Thank you for your marvelous posts. I always learn so much from you! :)

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  47. hey, the dal looks yummy & the kadai is so cute. BTW in my family it's not just me, but everyone sings the a b c d ....... ha!ha!
    thanks

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  48. Hi Sandeepa,
    Never made mango dal, but have seen it blogged a few times before. Your dal look so simple and tempting. Mango dal and white rice with the drapes and ceiling fan and all.....who wouldnt want to be in that room? So what if it is a sizzling 42 degrees outside! Lovely write-up.

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  49. Lovely recipe and a wonderful write-up..So, r u singing "N N N" this week?:)

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  50. Peeking in...hi...how are you sear friend...great dal recipe...I do love youre write up...I really enjoy reading your posts...thanks for sharing...take care

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  51. this might get lost in th flurry of comments here, but i wanted to tell you i lately discovered ur blog and love it totally......the recipes, the li'l trivia that u add, the pics and the wit that shines thro' ur words.......the blog's a pleasant discovery. I'm no cook and my school life does not allow me enough time to cook but am a great foodie... am a non-bengali married to a foodie Bengali (are there any other kinds ??? :DDD) recently.....and look fwd to using ur recipe to make my way to my man's heart thro' his ever-rumbling tummy...:DDDD
    greetings from Florida..:)

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  52. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  53. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  54. I loved your tak dal and so did all my bengali guests. I would have never imagined it would be so easy and simply delicious. I love your blog as it makes cooking exciting and fun.

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  55. Sandeepa - thanks for sharing this recipe.Away from home,I am trying this this weekend.

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  56. Thanks for the recipe. The mango pieces can be cooked/boiled in advance and water drained off to remove bitterness.Rest process as suggested by you. Without adding a sweetener, the taste will not be what the traditional Bong likes! For those cutting down on sugar may try a sugar substitute like " Sugar Free Natura" ( Note: Don't try "Sugar Free Gold" which is not recommended for cooking)

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  57. I made this dal and it's awesome ! Thanks:)

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