A traditional Odia lentil stew dish that is cooked with a combination of assorted vegetables and lentils.
According to pragativadi.com Traditionally, Dalma was essentially chana dal boiled with vegetables grown by the tribes, such as eggplant, elephant apples, arbi, shallots and pumpkin among others. Served during festive occasions when bhaat (boiled rice) was made alongside saag (spinach dish), it was served with a dollop of ghee (clarified butter) for aroma and taste.
There is of course, yet another tale that relates this dish to Indian mythology. In the Mahābhārata, when Bheema of the Pandava brothers entered the Kingdom of Viraat to hide for the 13th year, he headed to the kitchens, believing he would not die of hunger. Instead, the royal head cook ade Bheema cook with no oil and few spices. Bheema who had seen his wife Draupadi conjure up what many believe was the Habisa Dalma, a favourite of Krishna, set the pot on the boil and began throwing a handful or two of whatever was in sight. What he created was the Dalma presented with ghee.
Little did Bheema realize that by the 13th year, he would establish a new culinary style that would become popular as Bheema Rasiya. In fact, with time, this culinary style has been adopted as part of the five styles of cooking used in the Puri Temple, Odisha.
In place of tempering, freshly-prepared ghee is poured on top before serving. Made in an earthen pot that has been cured with jaggery water, a good Habisa Dalma is, in fact, a rarity today. Legend has it that when Habisa Dalma was prepared in the royal kitchens of Puri and Baripada, the aroma travelled to the King's court which was a street away.
In an Odia household, Dalma is considered to be one of the simplest dishes that can be made at any time within minutes.
Whatever the occasion, Dalma adorns the menu. Without this medley of lentil and vegetables, no vegetarian meal is complete.
The word dal in Odia or Hindi means lentil, and hence it's a lentil stew. It is super healthy, super nutritious, made with varieties of assorted local vegetables and lentil. You can make this dish any time without worrying too much about the ingredients. All you need is any vegetables and any lentil, literally.
There are three/four types of Dalma. The one that I am going to show you is made on special occasions like festivals. In this particular preparation, we temper with a few more spices than the one prepared in temples.
So let's get started!
Prep time | 20-30mins
Cooking time | 45-60mins
Difficulty level | Beginner - Intermediate
Ingredients
Split moong dal 1 ½ cup
Split Masoor dal ½ cup
( Any other lentil could be used like Toor dal, cheap peas, green moong etc)
Turmeric powder 2 tsp
Salt 2tsp (the measurement could vary according to taste)
Pumpkin 1 cup, large cubes
Plantain ½ cup, large cubes
Potatoes ½ cup, large cubes
Carrots ½ cup, large cubes
Reddish ½ cup, large cubes
Drumsticks ½ cup, large cubes
Eggplant 1 cup, large cubes
Colocasia ½ cup, large cubes
Ginger 2 inch, grated (less or more to taste)
Green chillies 3-4, sliced (less or more to taste)
Tomatoes 3 medium, chopped
Dried bay leaf 1 large
Coriander leaves ¾ cup, chopped (less or more to taste)
Roasted spice Dalma masala powder 2 tsp
Roasted spice Dalma masala powder ingredients
Cinnamon 2 sticks
Peppercorns ½ tbsp
Dried red chillies 5 -6 (can differ according to the taste)
Cumin 1 tbsp
Tempering Ingredients
Ghee/ clarified butter 4tbsp
Dried red chillies 3-4
Panchaphutana 1 tbsp (Details in the recipe below)
Cumin 1 tsp
To make the Dalma masala, dry roast all the ingredients on a low flame until the colour changes to a darker shade and the aroma comes through. Once done take it out of the pan, keep it aside to cool. Once cooled, transfer it to the mixing jar and grind it. Voilà that's your Dalma masala powder.
Our second step starts with the dry roasting the split moong dal on a low flame until the colour turns golden brown. Once dry roasted, wash it thoroughly in water. Repeat the process for the split Masoor dal as well. Finally soak the 2 ingredients together for 20 to 30 minutes.
In a large cooking pot take 7 cups of water. Keep the stove on a high flame. Once the water starts to boil, add the mixed dal into the water.
Add turmeric powder & salt to the pot. Reduce the flame to its medium setting and cover the lid. Cook for around 15 to 20 minutes until the Dall is half cooked. Once the dal is half cooked add in all the vegetables - pumpkin, plantain, potatoes, gadgets, radish, drumsticks, eggplant, Colocasia (These are the vegetables that I have chosen, you can take any other vegetables that you’d like. The beauty of this dish is it can be done with any vegetables that are there in your fridge.)
You might need to add 5 to 6 cups of water depending on the consistency that you'd prefer. Add the ginger, green chillies, tomatoes and dried Bayleaf.
Cover the lid and let it cook On medium-high flame until all the vegetables are well cooked. Once all the vegetables are cooked you might need to use a churner to churn the stew. A churner helps in Integrating the vegetables, the spices and the dal together. Once you have reached the desired consistency, keep it aside.
Now is the tempering time. We will start with placing a large pot on the stove. Once the pot is hot let’s add the ghee. Once the ghee is melted add the red chillies. Once the chilli is fried add the Pancho futon.
The Pancha phutana is a spice blend that consists of five spices that are cumin seeds, fennel seeds, Nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds and black mustard seeds.
Add cumin seeds. Once the spices start spluttering, Add the boiled vegetables and dal stew. Once the stew comes to a boil add the roasted spices & thhe Dalma masala powder. Mix it well and let the Dalma cook for another 2 to 3 minutes for the spices to integrate well with the stew. Add the chopped coriander leaves and the Dalma is ready to eat. serve it hot with steamed rice or bread.
Comments