What should be the best water-to-dal ratio, if i dont want my daal to be too watery but more thick? I saw a recipe and it just seemed really weird to me (3/4 c of daal to 6 cups water!)…? cant calll mom or MIL so … help plz.
Re: DaaL
cook some thing else
What should be the best water-to-dal ratio, if i dont want my daal to be too watery but more thick? I saw a recipe and it just seemed really weird to me (3/4 c of daal to 6 cups water!)....? cant calll mom or MIL so ... help plz.
depends on whether you are cooking it in the pressure or not and also depends on which daal you are cooking. some daals need more water then others.
Re: DaaL
sara, are you using a pressure cooker?
anyways, just put a lot, (i use approx 1 cup daal for 10 cup of water, or half a pressure cooker) and you can always boil it extra so it is not watery.
Re: DaaL
Sara i never measure the water when i cook daal. What i do is put a lot, like twice the width of daal or something along wth salt, pepper, onions, garlic, haldi etc and let it cook. When the daal is mushy and well cooked, you can increase the heat and let the extra water evaporate.
Re: DaaL
I'm making masur and moong daal (mixed).... and ill be making it in a regular pot...
am i supposed to soak the daals before i cook theM?
Re: DaaL
Double the amount of daal. Keep checking the daal periodically. Half way through the cooking if you feel it is less and the daal might be sticking on the bottom of the pan, add a little more water.
Re: DaaL
Yeah sara soak the daal for atleast 2 hours. And do a tarka of zeera, thinly sliced onions, sliced ginger and/or garlic, kari patta etc. Daals are so easy to make and soo yummy.
Re: DaaL
Double amount of water to daal is used when you want to cook them as if you cook rice - like daal with meat for shami kababs or mash ki daal. 3 times water of daal would be fine for liquid one.
I'm making masur and moong daal (mixed).... and ill be making it in a regular pot... am i supposed to soak the daals before i cook theM?
Yes soak it in three times cold water for at least one hour - 2 hours would be very fine.
Re: DaaL
Ok, honestly, I don't soak daal for long hours. I soak it only for like 15-20 mins or so.
Double amount of water to daal is used when you want to cook them as if you cook rice - like daal with meat for shami kababs or mash ki daal. 3 times water of daal would be fine for liquid one.
ok.. does it matter which daaL?
there r no hard and fast rules regarding the water-to-daal ratio..i always use my andaza and never measure the water..but yes i do measure the quantity of daal...bcz earlier i used to make just too much ...if daal is watery increase the heat and let it evaporate...its not a big deal to handle daal...daal is so easy to make:)
always soak daal before u cook..i usually let it soak in the morning when i have to cook it in evening..but rajma i soak at night..and then the other day i cook it in the evening..i dont use pressure cooker...its hard for me..
Re: DaaL
Ahh two (or was it three?) sweaty hot hours later..
the end result
I used my MIL’s way of cooking, which was to throw everything in the pateela and let it boil and then cover and cook on haalki aagh…then i fried onions and garlic and zeera and added it in the daal…
i dunno it came out okay…the rice was too stuck together, i think i shd’ve used less time for damm, and the daal was too thin…AND theres whole bits of adrak in it, which i hate, for some silly reason i thought the adrak would get mushy or something 
BUT…it tastes fine.. so I give it a B + 
Re: DaaL
I think it is an A…it looks good 
By the way that is how I do, throw everything in the pot, let it come to a boil, cook on medium heat for little bit then reducce the heat and let cook till it gets to the desire consistency. Also I don’t use whole ginger or garlic, I always use the paste.
Re: DaaL
Hehe thanks Lusi…ur more generous than i am i suppose lolz…
i cant say it enff i hate cutting veggies. gr.
i’m going to try making it again later this week and hopefully it’ll come out better..
oh btw.. what xactly do we put in the daaL?
I put onions (red walay), garlic cloves, the ginger, and shaan masala for daaL curry + anar-dana powder + garam masala + haldi + lal mirch… was i missing something? :aq:
Re: DaaL
Lolz… I don’t put all that stuff…lol I basically put salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, haldi, ginger and garlic paste. If I have green chilies on hand then I skip red chili and use just the green or little bit of green and little bit of red. I use chilies only for flavoring not for the spicyness (I can’t eat too spicy stuff). Then make tarka with onions, zeera, and dried or fresh clilantro.
lol…so yeah I don’t think you missed anything, actually all that stuff must have made your daal quite delish 
Re: DaaL
^ Ok that sounds ALOT easier, ill try it ur way
okay i know this is kinda a dumb Q…but when u soak the daal.. do u use the same water to cook with as well? cz like u know itwas kinda hard to drain the daal without it falling out into the sink..
Re: DaaL
lol make sure you wash before letting it soak. So if it keeps falling in the sink, then you can always use a strainer to wash and then soak it. Actually it is good to cook the daal in the soaked water as that water has lot of nutrients.
Re: DaaL
WASH IT??? 