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Panjabi Dhal Recipe

A lentil stew made with red split lentils, mung dal, onions, garlic, green chillies, cumin, turmeric, and oil.

From the NHS (UK) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Turmeric and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,698 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Panjabi Dhal Recipe

Timearound 15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the lentils

  1. Put the washed mung dhal and red lentils in a large pot, add the water and put on the hob on a low heat.

  2. After a few minutes, add the salt and turmeric, stir and bring to the boil.

  3. Once boiling, turn the heat down again and leave to simmer, partially covered, for around 15 minutes.

Make the tadka

  1. Meanwhile, heat the rapeseed oil in a shallow frying pan on medium heat.

  2. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 15 seconds, then add the onions and garlic.

  3. Once those are soft and beginning to brown (around 5 minutes), add the green chillies, mix well and cook for a further couple of minutes.

Combine and serve

  1. Add the mixture from the frying pan to the simmering lentils, stir well and turn up to a medium heat.

  2. Once boiling, turn off the heat and remove the pot.

  3. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then top with chopped coriander.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

180Calories
11 gProtein
1 gFat
33 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 10 ingredients. The other 4 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Lentil1/2 cup cooked (99g)115
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Turmeric1 tsp ground (3g)9
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Rapeseed Oilnot in our table0
Seednot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the NHS (UK).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Turmeric + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,698 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Lentils + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together308 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Lentils + turmerictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together267 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Red split lentils
Break down during simmering to thicken the dal into a creamy, soupy texture.
Split mung dhal
Cooks into soft grains that give the dal its body and mild flavour.
Onion
Softens and browns in the oil, adding sweetness and savoury depth to the base.
Garlic
Softens in the hot oil, adding aroma and pungency to the spiced base.
Cumin seeds
Bloom in hot oil, releasing a nutty, warm aroma into the fat.
Rapeseed oil
Carries the spices and aromatics, spreading their flavour through the dal.

The step that matters

Frying the onions and garlic until beginning to brown. Browning builds savoury, sweet flavour through the Maillard reaction, but overcooking turns the aromatics bitter, and the fried mixture must be added while still hot to carry flavour into the lentils.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lentils, onion, garlic, turmeric, cumin, coriander):

  1. Cardamomfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Gingerfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lentils, onion, garlic, turmeric, cumin, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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