From Tarla Dalal’s Dahiwali toor dal to an aromatic sambhar down South, Varan in Maharashtra to Dal Dhokli in Gujarat, Tur or toovar dal, arhar dal or pigeon pea, is versatile and used in several dishes across India. This dal has been a staple in Indian cuisine for a long time, so what’s new?
‘Tur dal seed coat has six times more calcium than milk’: ICRISAT. This piece of news has brought this humble dal centre stage once again.
Pigeon pea occupies a unique place in Indian agriculture, as India accounts for about 77 percent of the global production (as of 2020), tur dal is grown on around 5.40 m ha here and India is the biggest consumer.
Across India
Tuvarai or tuvari are the oldest regional names of Pigeon pea as these are mentioned in “Gathasaptasati”, which was published between 300 and 400 AD.
A hugely popular dal across India, it makes its presence felt daily in most homes. Tur Dal Dalma in Odisha and Arhar dal tadka in North India, are some of the ways this dal is consumed. Chefs are even using it in biryanis and kebabs.
In Southern States, tur dal is consumed daily in a myriad ways. Called Togari Bele in Karnataka where this dal is extremely popular, it is used to make chutneys, sambhar, podis and rasam.
Aruna Panangipally, of the popular recipe blog Aharam, says, “Mudda Pappu or Gatti Pappu is the typical way we cook tur dal in Andhra Pradesh, on all festive occasions. Kandi Pachadi - a chutney - is eaten with rice and ghee to improve absorption of nutrients and digestion.”
Storehouse of Nutrients
As per ICRISAT’s gene-bank findings, 100 g of pigeon-pea seed coat has 652 mg of calcium, as against 120 mg in 100 ml of milk. The daily calcium requirement for adults is 800-1,000 mg, which, reports indicate, the contemporary Indian diet does not provide.
Addition of vegetable pigeon pea can help by complementing the nutritional profile of cereals, and is a good source of protein, vitamins (A, C, B complex) and minerals, as compared to green peas. It may be the numero uno in nutrition, but tur dal or the dehulled grain, is also rich in protein (approx. 12 gms per 100 gms), fibre, carbohydrates, folic acid and minerals.
Dr Muniswamy S, pulse breeder and senior scientist, Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Kalaburagi, Karnataka, explains that the pigeon pea, which is used as a vegetable in Southern Karnataka, provides the maximum nutrients to the body, including calcium. When eaten as a dal, too, it is nutritious, and contains 82 mg of calcium per 100 gms of dal. As a dal, it cannot be cooked with seed-coat owing to the presence of some anti-nutritional factors.
There are other ways to preserve its nutrition.
Sreedevi Lakshmikutty, wrote in The Hindu, “Pigeon peas (tuvar dal)’s skin is not easily digestible and process of removing the skin is quite complex and manual. The whole pigeon pea is soaked in large vats, drained and allowed to sprout. Then it is dried and stored. Once the whole dal is ready to be processed, it is split. Thus processed, pigeon peas have about 5 percent of skin left and this adds texture to the cooked dal.”
Chefs, too, make do with what is available. Praveen Anand, Chef Culinaire - Dakshin & South Indian Cuisine, ITC Hotels, says: “While the skin of Pigeon Peas could hoard a lot of beneficial nutrients, it should be checked if the human body can absorb them fully. Therein lies the problem. In Europe, where I had used the pigeon peas, they come split with skin on and are larger in size and changed the character of the dish I was cooking. In India, it is only sold without skin. Perhaps it is also because it takes longer to cook and that’s where the pressure cooker helps in ease of cooking.”
Traditional methods for processing pulses were resource-intensive and healthy. In India, nowadays, the whole grain is split after harvesting, the husk or seed coat is discarded and then these dals are often polished to give a sheen.
But all is not lost. Nutritionist Kavita Devgan says, “Even without the coat this dal is extremely nutritious. The three solid pillars of good health are: enough nutrients, good-quality protein, and fibre for gut health - and it delivers all three. It is a very cost-effective source of good-quality protein - a boon for vegetarians. It delivers lots of essential nutrients and antioxidants - potassium, calcium, zinc, niacin and vitamin K, and is particularly rich in folate, and packed with soluble fibre.
She adds, “Boost the calcium content of the dal by giving a tadka with sesame seeds (which are loaded with calcium). Opt for unpolished dals, as polished pulses have a shiny smooth surface but are less nutritious compared to their natural (unpolished) counterparts.”
According to Dr Kuldeep Singh, Genebank Head, ICRISAT, further research is on for maximum utilization of the available nutrients. Till then, relish a meal of tur dal with rice.
Recipes
Patchai Mangai Parippu
Recipe by Praveen Anand, Chef Culinaire – Dakshin & South Indian Cuisine, ITC Hotels
Ingredients:
Raw mango, diced 300 gms
Onion, sliced 150 gms
Green chilli, slit - 6
Ghee 90 ml
Mustard seeds 5 gms
Garlic, crushed / chopped 10
Dry red chillies, broken 3
Cumin 3 gms
Salt to taste
Asafoetida a pinch
Boiled Tur dal, mashed 500 gms
Turmeric powder 3 gms
Garnish: fried curry leaves
Method :
• Heat raw mango, green chilli, onion, turmeric powder, little water, asafoetida and salt in a vessel on medium heat till done.
• Add boiled and mashed tur dal. Mix well & simmer.
• Heat ghee, crackle mustard seeds, dry red chilli and cumin. Toss in garlic and sauté till golden.
• Add the tempering to the dal and raw mango mixture.
• Check seasoning and serve hot with rice & ghee.
Tur Dal Galouti Kebab
Recipe by Akhilesh Pathak, Chef de Cuisine- DoubleTree by Hilton Goa Panaji
Ingredients
Tur Dal, 200 gms
Brown onion paste, 20 gms
Fried cashew nut paste, 20 gms
Ginger garlic paste, 10 gms
Yellow chilli powder, 1 teaspoon
Kashmiri chilli powder, 2 teaspoons
Clarified butter (ghee), 20 gms
Garam masala powder, 2 teaspoons
Green cardamom powder, 2 teaspoons
Roasted gram flour, 2 teaspoons
Saffron, 1 gm
Rose water, 1.5 teaspoons
Kewra water, 1.5 teaspoons
Salt to taste
For smoking:
Green cardamom (whole), 10 gms
Cloves (whole), 5 gms
Galouti Masala Ingredients
Green cardamom, 25 gms
Javitri, 25 gms
Cloves, 10 gms
Stone flower, 10 gms
Khus Khus root, 15 gms
Black cardamom, 5 gms
Dry rose petals, 5 gms
Cinnamon stick, 8gms
Bay leaves, 4
Method
• Cook the tur dal and drain. Grind to a smooth paste using little or no water.
• Marinate the paste with ginger garlic and set aside for 30 mins.
• Add all ingredients (except the smoking ingredients) along with 2 teaspoons of the Galouti masala powder and warm ghee. Mix well.
• In a closed container smoke the mixture with hot ghee, whole green cardamom and whole cloves for 15 mins.
• Shape into tikkis and shallow fry on hot plate applying ghee.
• Serve hot with ulta tawa paratha and dahi
Gadhwali style Arhar ki dal
Recipe by Chef Vikram Panwar, Hyatt Regency Chandigarh
Ingredients
Arhar ki dal, 2 katori (300 gms)
Turmeric, 1 tsp (5 gms)
Cumin, 2 tsp (10 gms)
Green chilli chopped, 3 to 4 (10 gms)
Onion chopped, 1 medium sized (60 gms)
Salt to taste
Method
• Wash and soak lentils for 1 hour, then add turmeric and enough water to cook (it needs at least a litre of water)
• Cook over a slow fire of chulha after dinner, overnight.
• Reheat lentil broth. Adjust salt to taste and temper it with smoking hot oil, cumin, chopped green chilli, chopped onion and cover the pot for couple of minutes.
• Stir well and serve hot with steamed rice.
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