By Admin 
How To Make Restaurant Style Dal At Home: Dal is one of the most important and favorite dishes of Indian food. Be it lunch or dinner, the plate often seems incomplete without dal. But many times the dal prepared at home does not taste the same as the one available in a good restaurant or dhaba. If this happens to you too then there is no need to worry. By adopting some easy kitchen tips, you can prepare such dal at home, whose aroma and taste will be liked by everyone. Believe me, once this dal is prepared and served, the family members will keep licking their fingers.
choosing the right pulse
Making restaurant-style dal starts with choosing the right dal. Generally, pigeon pea (tur) dal is most commonly used for this. However, many people also add moong or lentils to it, which improves both the taste and texture. Wash the lentils thoroughly and soak them for some time. Due to this, the pulses cook quickly and its taste also improves.
What to do while cooking dal?
While cooking dal, instead of adding only turmeric and salt, also add finely chopped onion, tomato, ginger, green chilli and a pinch of asafoetida. When all these things cook together with the dal, their taste gets mixed well with the dal. After the pulses are completely cooked in the pressure cooker, mash it lightly and add water as per requirement and let it boil on low flame for a few minutes. This makes the texture of the dal as smooth as in a restaurant.
What to keep in mind while applying tadka?
Now comes the turn of that thing which makes ordinary dal special. Its name is Tadka. This tadka increases the taste and aroma of dal manifold. Heat desi ghee or oil in a small pan. First add cumin seeds in it. When cumin starts crackling, add finely chopped garlic, dry red chilli and a pinch of asafoetida. Fry the garlic until it turns light golden. After this, add Kasoori Methi and Kashmiri red chilli powder and turn off the gas. Pour this hot tempering directly on the boiling dal. As soon as the tadka is mixed in the dal, its aroma will spread throughout the house.
How to get dhaba taste?
If you want the taste exactly like a restaurant or dhaba, then you can adopt another special method. This is called Dhungar method. In this a small piece of coal is heated until it turns red. Then it is kept in a small steel bowl and a little ghee is poured on it. After this, this bowl is placed in the middle of the dal pot and the lid is closed. Within one to two minutes, the light smoke of coal gets absorbed into the dal and it gets a smoky flavour. This taste often makes restaurant dal different from home-made dal.
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keep this in mind
While preparing dal, its thick or thin consistency should also be kept in mind. Too thick dal feels heavy to eat, while too thin dal tastes bland. Restaurant style dal is always medium thick, which goes well with both rice and roti. Finally add some garam masala and finely chopped green coriander to the dal. If you like a richer taste then you can also add one spoon of fresh cream. This makes the taste of dal even more delicious.
Serve this dal with hot plain rice, jeera rice, tandoori roti, paratha or phulka. If you want, you can also add some ghee on top. When the aroma of this dal reaches the dining table, everyone will not be able to stop themselves from having it for the second time.
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