Dal ki Dulhan (Wheat Dumplings in Lentil Curry)

Dal Ki Dulhan is a wholesome meal made by boiling wheat dumplings in hot boiling dal. It gives you all the carbs, fat, protein, and fiber that we need our meals. This is made all over India with slight modifications and different names. It’s called Dal ki Dulhan or Dal ka Dulha in UP, Dal Pithi in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Dal Dhokli in Gujarat and so on.

This a very traditional old-time dish. There is a story that women in olden days would go out or hang together. As a time pass, they would mold the wheat flour dough into multiple artistic shapes which they would call Dulhan (Dulha if it’s bigger in size). They would then drop these in boiling dal and these would get cooked by the time they would serve it up to their family.

Here is a step by step recipe to this wholesome dish. Bet you would be hooked to it once you try. A friend shared this recipe with me 10 years ago and I was intrigued by its simplicity and I have been going back to it and creating it again and again.

VARIATIONS:

1. Choice of Lentils: Dal is Dulhan is traditionally made with Toor Dal, however, this dal doesn’t thicken up on its own while cooking. So it is nice to add a little thickening dal like moong or masoor dal with it.
2. Dumpling flour: You can either make these with whole wheat or add a few other flours in it. I have shared a recipe with whole wheat and chickpea flour. Ragi, Makki, Jowar, Bajra, or Soyabean flour also go very well with it.
3. Dumpling shapes: I have made the traditional fan shape of the dumpling. But you can also cut them in simple diamond shapes, etc.
4. Tempering: To hero the lentil, I have not added a proper tadka with onions and tomatoes. I am using just garlic and lemon juice in this version, but feel free to add a proper onion – tomato tadka if that’s what you prefer.

PREPARATION TIME: 10-12 minutes
COOKING TIME: 45 minutes
SERVINGS: 2-3
DIFFICULTY SCALE: Medium

INGREDIENTS:   

For the Dal –

1. Toor Dal – 1/3 cup
2. Masoor dal – 5 tablespoons
3. Turmeric Powder – 1 teaspoon
4. Red chili powder – ½ teaspoon
5. Salt – 1 tablespoon, more to taste
6. Lemon juice – 3 tablespoons
7. Ghee – 1-2 tablespoons
8. Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon
9. Asafetida – a pinch
10. Garlic – 2-3 pods
11. Coriander leaves – for garnish

For the Dumplings –

12. Whole wheat flour – 1/3 cup
13. Chickpea flour – 3-4 tablespoons
14. Oil – 1 tablespoon
15. Kasoori Methi – 1 teaspoon
16. Salt – 1 teaspoon

UTENSILS/EQUIPMENT:

1. Pressure Cooker
2. Kadhai/wok
3. Cookie-cutter

RECIPE:

For the Dal –

1. Wash and soak the lentils for about 15 minutes before cooking.
2. Pressure cook the lentils along with turmeric powder and salt for about 3 whistles.
3. Remove from heat and let the pressure release.
4. Once the pressure is released, mash the dal with a ladle/wooden spoon.
5. Now add this dal mix to a kadhai and add red chili powder to it. Take a wide bottom kadhai to ensure that there is enough room for the dumplings to cook.
6. Add 2-3 cups of water and let it come to a boil.
7. Add about 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.

For the dumplings –

8. While the dal is boiling, mix the whole wheat flour and chickpea flour into a bowl.
9. Add kasoori methi, oil, and salt. Crumble to flours with your hands to mix the oil.
10. Now add a little water and knead into a smooth and soft dough.
11. Cover it and rest for 15-20 minutes.
12. Now roll the dough with a rolling pin to about ¼ inch thickness. Don’t make super thick or thin dumplings as they might undercook or disintegrate in the boiling dal.
13. Use a cookie cutter or small bowl, to cut out small circles.  Remember that the dumplings will swell and get bigger, so cut into small size circles.
14. Now apply a dot of water to the 4 corners of the circle. Imagine it was a clock, so apply water dots at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock.
15. Join the opposite ends, to create a fan-like shape.
16. Repeat this till all the dough gets used.

Cooking the dumplings and final tempering –

17. Drop the dumplings into the boiling dal. Turn the heat on medium and cover with a lid.

18. Let them cook for about 12-15 minutes.
19. In a tempering pan, add 1-2 tablespoons of ghee.
20. Once it’s hot, add in the cumin seeds. Add in minced garlic pieces and asafetida.
21. Mix this tadka into the dal mix. Check the taste for salt/acidity. Adjust if needed.
22. Garnish with coriander leave and serve hot.

Dal ki Dulhan is ready. Bon appetite!