Dal stays hard after frying tarka
I have a problem with hard dal after frying. Can someone explain the cause.
I made a tarka for lemon rice yesterday and added 1 tsp of urid dal to the frying mixture as called for in the recipe. Left out the 1 tsp toor dal cos they are bigger and I couldn't imagine that they would cook. On eating, the dal was very hard and weird in the rice. Like eating uncooked rice with cooked rice.
My friend made this recipe before (and used toor dal as well) and when we ate it, I did not notice any hard bits (and I ate the rice for a couple of days after that). I asked her and she said she doesn't know why it became hard. She has also encountered the same problem.
Should the rice be left to steam further after mixing in the tarka?
Best Answer
Generally you have to soak lentils for many hours, use a pressure cooker to soften them up or a combination of the two. Only masoor dal can be cooked straight away. So I'm guessing you missed a step in whatever recipe you are following.
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Why is my Daal hard?
You Add Salt To Soaked Dal It absorbs water from the lentils as well, which often leads to undercooked or hard dal. Therefore, do not use salt at this stage of cooking. You can use it later on when you prepare it with your regular tadka.How do you soften hard dal?
Solution 1: Par cook the toor dal before you load the dal Let it come to boil in a small saucepan. Switch off the flame and close the lid for 10 minutes. This now results in half-cooked dal. Take this par-cooked dal and proceed as normal with the pressure cooker.Can dal be overcooked?
Overcooked dal is gross: Don't overcook your dal. Always be watching and tasting. Overcooked dal is a mushy mess. Similarly, undercooked dal tastes like bird food; the lentils should be tender but still have some substance.How long should dal be cooked?
In a deep saucepan, bring water, turmeric and 1 tablespoon of oil to a boil over high heat. Add dal. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dal is very soft.Indian Dal Fry 5 Types | दाल फ्राई करे के पंच आसन तारिके | Chef Kunal Kapur Recipes
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Answer 2
Without looking at your recipe, it's hard to know for sure. One guess might be that your dal is old; old and dried-out legumes generally take longer to soften when you're cooking them, so it may be that the toasting followed by a brief steaming on top of the rice wasn't long enough to soften them. Whatever the cause, next time you may want to let the dal cook longer, whether it's when you're toasting them to make the tarka or after you add the tarka to the rice (in which case the steam from the rice will also help if they're dried out).
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