Dal ki Roti Recipe, Make Soft Rotis with Dal Mixed in Roti Dough

Dal ki roti is roti or chapati made by adding cooked dal or lentils to the atta (wheat flour) while kneading. My mom often experiments with various ingredients while kneading chapati dough including boiled and mashed potatoes, butter, ghee and pureed spinach, even cooked rice. However, this interesting idea was shared by a good friend recently. She has two kids and says it's tough to get them to eat dal as such so she just makes roti dough with cooked dal and other vegetables like spinach and tomato so that they don't realise they are eating all of these healthy things. Mothers and their creativity! Thank you Sri for this idea :)

Back to our recipe in hand, dal ki roti. This chapati recipe is customisable in dozens of different ways. The basic method is to cook toor dal or moong dal into a mush with turmeric and use that to moisten and knead roti dough. Beyond this, you can use your imagination. Here are a few suggestions:

- add spinach, tomatoes, peas, carrots, or any vegetable that can cook to a smooth mush. This is important for smooth rolling of the roti
- add spices like jeera, chilli, etc
- add fresh or dry herbs like kasuri methi, coriander, pudina, methi, etc

So many options!

For more paratha, roti, and flatbread recipes, check out:

Gobi paratha
Paneer paratha
Methi thepla
Methi paratha
Maida poori
Corn poori
Poori bhaji

DAL KI ROTI RECIPE

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes 7 rotis

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups of atta (whole wheat flour)
3 cups of cooked and mashed toor dal (see notes)
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
1/2 tsp of chilli powder
2 tsp of ghee or oil or butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

To make the dough:

1. First, pressure cook the toor dal turmeric powder until mushy and soft. I added 3 cups water to about 1 cup dal. Let this cool down.
2. Meanwhile, measure out the atta and add the cumin powder, chilli powder, and salt to taste. Mix well to combine the dry ingredients.
3. Add the cooked dal to this and start kneading into a soft dough that's not sticky. You can add more water if needed but this depends on how much water you added when cooking the dal so take care and add dal mixture little at time.
4. When the dough comes together, add the ghee and knead again to get a smooth, elastic dough. I don't kill myself kneading roti dough, around 5-6 mins of kneading should be enough.
5. Set the dough aside for 30 mins or so before making the rotis. You can also refrigerate this up to 3 days (I have kept it even longer but try this at your own risk).

To make the rotis:

1. Heat an iron tawa or non stick pan
2. Make large lemon-sized balls with the dough and flatten between your palms.
3. Dust generously with atta and roll into an even thin circle. You can actually adjust the thickness to your preference, I keep it fairly thin.
4. Dust off the excess flour and place on the heated tawa.
5. Let one side cook before flipping over. You can add more oil or ghee if needed. If you plan to pack the rotis or keep for a while before eating, then I recommend adding a few drops of oil when cooking to maintain softness.
6. When both sides are cooked to a golden brown with dark brown specks, you are done.
7. Stack dal rotis on a plate and serve hot with pickles and curd

Step by step pictures to make dal ki roti:

Cook 1 cup toor dal with about 3 cups water and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder in a pressure cooker. The dal should be fairly thick as you see below. If it's more watery, that's still ok, you just won't have a lot of dal in your rotis. I had to add some water when kneading the dough since my dal was quite thick.

Set aside the cooked dal to cool or at least become warm enough to handle easily.

In a wide bowl, take your 1.5 cups atta + 1/2 cumin powder + 1/2 tsp chilli powder and salt to taste. Mix well to combine the ingredients.

Now add the cooked dal and some water if needed. Knead into a soft, pliable dough.

When the dough starts to come together, add the 2 tsp of ghee and knead again to bring it together. Make sure the dough is not sticky to touch. When you mix fat to the atta while kneading, that results in very soft rotis since it breaks the gluten in the flour down easier. So adding some fat to flour when kneading or cooking is recommended, rather than making dry chapatis.

Cover and set aside for 30 minutes or refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days.

When you are ready to start making the rotis, heat an iron or non stick tawa or pan.

Pinch out a large lemon-sized ball of dough and form a smooth ball between your palms. Flatten slightly and dust generously with more atta.

Roll out into a thin (per your preference), uniform circle.

Place on your heated pan and cook on medium-low flame until small puffs of air pockets appear on the surface of the roti. Add a few drops of oil or ghee to this if you desire.

Flip over with a spatula and cook the other side until brown spots appear on the surface. The rotis won't puff up too much but will be very soft nevertheless.

Repeat the process until all the dough is used up. Serve dal ki roti hot with curd and pickles or any side dish of choice.

Notes:
- I have mentioned this a few times but you will have to use some judgement for quantity of dal and water needed to knead the dough
- Customise the dal mixture to your preference. Add vegetables, herbs, etc to your liking. Just make sure to cook everything very soft and mash it up before kneading so that the rotis turn out smooth
- You can store this dough in the refrigerator. I kept mine for up to one week but this really depends on a lot of factors so don't keep it more than 3 days if you are worried about the dough spoiling
- You can skip the ghee while kneading the dough and just brush more when cooking. I prefer to add oil or ghee to the dough and skip it while cooking unless I am packing rotis for our lunch

If you try this recipe, do let me know and share a picture on my Facebook page.

For dal ki roti recipe in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, etc, please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.

Mushroom Tikka Recipe - Grilled Mushroom Tikka, an Easy Appetizer

Learn how to make mushroom tikka, an easy starter or appetizer recipe with mushrooms that you can make in less than thirty minutes. Mushroom tikka shouldn't be confused with the delicious mushroom tikkis though, something I tend to make quite often for its ease of making and serving.

I love having people over for a meal and spend an inordinate amount of time planning the menu, adjusting the ingredients and dishes so there's something for everyone, and everything goes well together. Mushrooms are not a usual addition to my menu because I find that not many people love its texture and meatiness like TH and I do. If cooked right, mushrooms play really well with Indian spices and this mushroom tikka is a great example of that.

Mushroom tikka is very easy to put together and unlike paneer tikka, it doesn't need a lot of marinating time. I used super fresh shiitake mushrooms we got from the Orange Grove markets, one of my favourite farmers markets in Sydney. You can also use fresh button mushrooms to make this, make sure to pick small sized ones so they cook evenly.

MUSHROOM TIKKA RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:
15 small fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp plain curd
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1/4 tsp roasted jeera powder
1/2 tsp garam masala or chaat masala
1-2 tbsp besan (gram flour)
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1/4 tsp ginger paste (optional)
4 tbsp oil
Salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In Sydney, when you buy mushrooms, they give them in paper bags that have instructions on how to clean them. Apparently washing mushrooms makes them mushy when cooked so the best way to clean them is by brushing lightly to remove the dirt and dust. This is the method I use now to clean mushrooms. Do the same with whichever mushrooms you are using. Choose small, whole ones.

2. Add the remaining ingredients (except oil) to the above mushrooms and mix gently by hand.

3. Set aside for a few minutes. I have even cooked them immediately with good results but for best results, leave this aside for about 30 mins to an hour.

4. Heat the oil in a large pan (preferably cast iron) and either string the mushrooms on kebab sticks and roast grill them until browned or add as individual pieces until nicely grilled.

5. Stick toothpicks through the mushrooms and serve with green chutney, raw onions, and lemon pieces.

Aloo Gobi Recipe - Dry Aloo Gobi Sabzi Recipe - Potato Cauliflower Dry Curry

Learn how to make Punjabi-style aloo gobi recipe, a classic dry vegetable dish with aloo (potatoes) and gobi (cauliflower). This simple dry sabzi goes wonderfully with roti if you have some dal tadka on the side is one of our favourite go-to comfort dishes. I even serve it with rice and moong dal tadka or vegetable sambar for a simple meal.

Over many years of making aloo gobi at home, I have refined the method to something that suits me really well. I don't add a drop of water while cooking this and I don't fry the spices in oil first as we do with pretty much all sabzi preparations in India, but I add them towards the end when the vegetables are cooked. Unconventional, agreed, but the resulting aloo gobi is roasted and perfect, even if I say so myself.

Gobi lovers like us? Check out my gobi biryani recipe, this lovely gobi manchurian recipe, and one of my favourites - gobi paratha using a fail-proof technique for rolling them out.

DRY ALOO GOBI RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium-sized potato, peeled and cut into wedges
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/4 turmeric powder
3/4 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
A pinch of garam masala
1 tsp canned tomato paste (see notes)
A fistful of chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onions. When the onions turn soft, add the ginger and garlic and saute until fragrant (about 2 mins).

2. Add the potatoes and cauliflower to this and cook on lowest heat, covered, mixing now and then so the vegetable pieces don't burn.

3. When the vegetables are half cooked, add the tomato paste and mix again. Cook again for 3-4 mins or until the vegetables are soft (not mushy).

4. Add the spice powders - coriander powder, turmeric powder, jeera powder, and chilli powder. Mix again until well combined. Cook until the spice powders don't smell raw anymore - another 2 mins or so. The potatoes and cauliflower should be roasted and dry by now. Add salt.

5. Finish off with a generous amount of chopped coriander leaves and mix again.

Gobi Masala all done!

Gobi Masala is a great combination with chapatis or rotis and a simple dal recipe. You can also serve with rice, jeera pulao, or any other pulao for a bit of an added spice kick.

Notes:
- Adjust spice levels to your liking.
- You can add pureed tomato or chopped tomato instead of canned paste. Since I like to add as little water as possible, I add the paste which is thick and quite intense. If you are adding pureed tomato, make sure to add it after the onions are cooked and let it thicken a bit before following the rest of the steps.

For Gobi Masala recipe in Hindi, Urdu, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, etc, please use the Google Translate button in the sidebar.

Methi Matar Malai - Methi Leaves Cooked with Matar and Malai (For Roti, Pulao)

Methi Matar Malai - there's something musical about the name of this popular North Indian side dish made with methi leaves, matar or peas, and malai or cream. While I have no issues adding cream to my dishes (paneer butter masala, anyone?), I decided to make a version of methi matar malai with no cream by using magaz or white melon seeds. You can very well use cashew nuts instead but I loved the nuttiness of magaz in my paneer makhani so decided to use up the rest in this methi matar malai - or should I say methi matar no malai.

Methi Matar Malai with Methi Thepla

The methi matar malai you get in restaurants has a white base since most don't add tomatoes. I wanted a bit to give my version a bit of tang so used a bit of canned tomato sauce which lends itself well to a smooth gravy for the curry. You can definitely omit the tomatoes. I also didn't add too much masala to the methi matar malai, deciding to keep it simple and let the flavours of the methi, peas, and base spices ingredients shine through.

Looking for more methi leaves recipes? Check out my top 3 favourites - methi pulao, aloo methi, and methi paratha.

METHI MATAR MALAI RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of onions, cubed
1/2 cup of onions, sliced thin
2-3 cloves of garlic
1" piece of ginger
2 green chillies
1 tsp of jeera or cumin seeds
1/3 cup of canned tomato sauce or 1/2 cup pureed tomato - optional
3 tbsp of magaz or melon seeds or 1/4 cup cashew nuts, soaked in water for 15 mins
2 cups of packed methi or fenugreek leaves
1/2 cup of green peas
1 cup of milk
1 tsp of garam masala or Kitchen King masala
2 tsp of ghee or butter or oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Grind together the cubed onions, green chillies, ginger, and garlic to a smooth paste.

Add the magaz or cashew nuts and grind further to a smooth paste, adding a few spoonfuls of water.

2. Heat the ghee (or butter or oil) in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they splutter and turn fragrant, add the sliced onions and saut� until lightly browned.

3. Add the ground paste and tomato sauce (if using) to this and simmer for 3-4 mins.

4. Meanwhile, pick the leaves of the methi and wash well. Chop roughly and add to the simmering paste along with the green peas (matar).

5. Add the milk and some salt. Mix well.

6. Cook covered for about 10 mins until the peas is cooked soft.

7. Uncover and add the garam masala and more salt if needed.

8. Mix and remove from fire. If the gravy is too thick, add more water or milk and bring to boil again before removing from flame. If too watery, you can simmer it longer but remember that the gravy will thicken as it sits.

Hot Methi Matar Malai is best served with nan, paratha, rotis, or pulao like veg pulao or jeera pulao.

NOTES:

1. Methi matar malai is a lovely blend of sweet + bitter + salty. Adding a pinch of sugar won't be a bad idea but mostly the sweetness will come from the onions
2. Use frozen methi leaves if you can't find any fresh ones. You can also use kasuri methi soaked in water instead of the fresh leaves. Reduce quanity to about 1 cup if so since dried methi leaves are much more intense in flavour than the fresh leaves
3. You can, of course, omit the magaz or cashews and add cream in the end along with the garam masala to make restaurant-style methi matar malai

Paneer Paratha Recipe - Punjabi Paneer Paratha - Step by Step Recipe

Paneer Paratha is a popular Punjabi paratha recipe. A delicious double-layer of paratha filled with spiced paneer or cottage cheese is our idea of bliss for a weekend meal. Learn how to make easy Punjabi paneer parathas using this easy step by step recipe. 

I learnt how to make parathas quite late in life - especially the stuffed parathas like aloo paratha. When I tried gobi paratha for the first time, I used a different technique (check the post to see what I did) since I was worried my parathas will tear and all the filling will spill out, ruining my parathas and so, dinner for that night. So yeah, it does take practice to get paratha right but once you have done it a few times, parathas become much easier to make.

Paneer parathas are delicious and definitely work the extra time if you decide to use homemade paneer for the parathas. The filling can be spiced the way you like and there are different varations. I decided to keep it simple since anything too large in the filling can cause a tear in the paratha and I am quite paranoid about that.

I figured out, thanks to quite a few blogs and books out there, that one of the tricks to making smooth parathas without them tearing while rolling is to add some maida or plain flour to the atta while making the paratha dough. The extra elasticity that plain flour gives is truly magical and gives you a very pliable dough that's more forgiving of a novice trying to make parathas at home.

You can adjust the proportions and go 100% atta if you'd like but if you are new to making parathas, then I highly recommend adding some plain flour to your dough and make your life a bit easier. It's especially useful for Paneer Parathas since the filling will be a big grainy.

The good part about making parathas for lunch or dinner is that you don't need very elaborate side dishes for them. Just a bowl of plain curd (you can make curd at home) and some spicy pickle will make the meal complete. I had some pudalangai kootu which I felt went fabulously with the paratha but I think that's a bit of an abomination so don't be like me and mix Punjabi parathas with South Indian kootu. Unless, of course, you really want to.

PS: I love paneer. Here's a list of all Paneer Recipes on Edible Garden.

PANEER PARATHA RECIPE

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes ~7 parathas

Ingredients:
For the dough:

• 1 cup of atta or Indian whole wheat flour (chapati flour)
• 1/2 cup of maida or all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp of salt (adjust to taste)
• 1-2 tsp of ghee or oil

For the filling:

• 2 cups of paneer cubes (how to make paneer at home)
• 3/4 tsp of red chilli powder (or use finely chopped green chillies)
• 1 large pinch of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 1/2 tsp of powdered cumin or jeera
• A small pinch of omam or kalonji seeds
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tsp of oil

How to Make Paneer Paratha:

1. First make the dough by mixing all the ingredients for dough in a bowl. Add about 1 cup water in intervals until a soft non-sticky dough is formed. I use my kitchen to make paratha dough and it works fabulous. Cover and set the dough aside for about 30 mins and make the filling in the meantime.
2. For the filling: grate the paneer into a wide bowl. You can also crumble it with your fingertips but grating is best for making filling for paneer paratha.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients for filling to the paneer and mix well. Cover and set aside.
4. To make the parathas: pull out a lime-sized ball of dough and roll between palms into a smooth ball.
5. Using the palm of your left hand and the fingertips of your right hand, form an even-sized 'cup' with the dough that can hold the filling. The process is very similar to how we make modak (see pics below).
6. Add a lime-sized amount of filling in the centre of the cup and cover with the dough.
7. Dust generously and roll gently into a 1/4" thick circle
8. Heat a pan or griddle and cook the paratha on medium flame until puffy and both sides have brown flecks
9. Just before removing from the pan, brush both sides with ghee and transfer to a plate.
10. Make the rest of the paratha and stack them up on top of each other
11. Serve hot with plain curd and pickles.

Step by Step PIctures for making Paneer Paratha:

1. Mix the ingredients for dough with about 1 cup water and form a smooth yet non-sticky dough. Cover and set aside.

2. For filling, start by grating the paneer

3. And add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.

4. When ready to make the parathas, make a smooth ball out of a lime-sized amount of dough. Gently use your palm and finger tips to flatten it into a "cup".

5. Place an equal amount of filling (equal to the size of the dough you used) in the centre

and seal with the dough.

6. Flatten between palms and dust generously.

7. Roll into a 1/4" circle. If there are air pockets while rolling, prick with a fork and continue to roll.

8. Transfer to a heated pan and cook both sides until it's puffy

and brown flecks appear on both sides. Keep flame at medium and take care not to burn the parathas.

9. Brush the cooked parathas generously with ghee and stack them on a plate to serve.

Notes:

• Take the extra time to grate the paneer, please.
• You can add any spices of your choice to the filling. While I love the flavour of green chillies, they may cause the dough to tear as you roll, and also, biting into spicy pieces of green chillies is not our idea of a pleasant surprise.
• You can also lightly saute the filling in some oil and cool before using it. I think the parathas are delicious without that step so why bother. But that's just me. You may want to try it.
• Adding some minced onions to the filling would be yum too.
• If using homemade paneer, it will be more moist than store bought ones. Make sure you freeze them for a while before grating, and if it's very moist, squeeze out the excess water completely. You don't want a soggy filling to work with, trust me. Sauteeing may help in this case, especially.