Dal Banjari Recipe with step wise photos & video.
An easy, protein rich & nutritious side dish pertaining to the rustic Rajasthani Cuisine.
Dal banjari is made with a combo of using skinned urad dal & chana dal.
I love Rajasthani Cuisine for its utter simplicty which uses very minimal ingredients, yet they never fail to amaze us with its rustic flavors.
Being a desert region, it is really amazing how the people cooked such delicious yet nutritious food with whatever ingredients they could lay their hands on.
Though this dal is spiced with red chilies, green chilies & red chili powder, the urad dal absorbs all the spices making it a very mildly spiced side dish that is usually served with rotis.
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The dal combo of urad & chana dal in this dal banjari, makes it finger licking delicious & filling.
I love eating it as such topped with some crunchy sev or pappads or thattai which makes a wholesome dinner without being heavy on the stomach.
This dal recipe does not use any tomatoes & the tangy quotient comes from the lemon juice added towards the end.
As both the dals have the tendency to thicken more as they cool, it is best to serve this immediately after cooking.
But if you wish to store & serve it later, then what I used to do is to make this dal banjari a tad bit more spicy.
Add some hot water to thin it out to the consistency you prefer before serving. This way despite thinning it out, the dal won’t taste bland.
But also keep in mind that, since we have added lemon juice, it is not wise to keep on reheating it several times as the dish might turn out bitter.
Dal Banjari recipe with step wise photos:
1. Take black gram dal & chana dal in a bowl.
2. Wash well & soak for 30 mins.
3. Drain water & transfer to a pressure cooker. Add salt, turmeric powder, 2 cups water.
4. Pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles. Set aside.
5. Heat a pan with oil & ghee.
6. Add cloves, cinnamon and red chilies.
7. Add onion, green chili & saute for 2 mins over medium flame.
8. Add ginger garlic paste, red chili powder & saute for 1 more min.
9. Add cooked dal, 1/2 cup water & mix well.
10. Add salt, lemon juice & cook for 5 mins over low flame.
11. Add coriander leaves, ginger slivers & give it a mix.
12. Dal Banjari is ready to be served piping hot with rotis.
Dal Banjari Recipe Video below:
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If you are looking for region specific side dishes to serve with rotis, then check out,
Punjabi Dum Aloo
Chettinad Mushroom Masala
Punjabi Baingan Bharta
South Indian Mushroom Curry
Maharashtrian Chavli Amti
Bengali Phalguni Dal
Dal Banjari recipe details below:

Dal Banjari
Ingredients
- Black gram dal - 1/2 cup with the skin
- Chana dal - 1/4 cup
- Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
- Onion - 1 finely chopped
- Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
- Green chili - 1 finely chopped
- Cloves - 2
- Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
- Whole dry red chilies - 2
- Red chili powder - 1 tsp
- Lemon juice - 2 tsp
- Coriander leaves - 3 tsp finely chopped
- Ginger slivers - to serve
- Salt - to taste divided
- Ghee - 2 tsp
- Oil - 2 tsp
Instructions
Prepare & cook the dal:
- Take black gram dal & chana dal in a bowl. Wash well & soak for 30 mins.
- Drain water & transfer to a pressure cooker.
- Add salt, turmeric powder, 2 cups water.
- Pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles. Set aside.
Make Dal Banjari:
- Heat a pan. Add oil & ghee.
- Add cloves, cinnamon, red chilies, green chili, onion & saute for 2 mins over medium flame.
- Add ginger garlic paste, red chili powder & saute for 1 more min.
- Add cooked dal along with water, salt, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water & mix well.
- Cook for 5 mins over low flame.
- Switch off stove.
- Add coriander leaves, ginger slivers & give it a mix.
- Dal Banjari is ready to be served piping hot with rotis.
Video

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