Biulir daal/ Kolai r daal/ Uraad daal

Biulir daal aka Kolai r daal with ada mouribata( ginger and fennel paste) is a quintessential Bengali dish. It goes best with aloo posto or any posto dish. But unfortunately, during this time of lockdown, when I am running out of posto, I have served it with kumror ghonto. You can serve it with any veggie of your choice.

There are many differences in food habits between a “ghonti” and “bangal”. For example “ghontis” love to add sugar in their preparations. Well, in some dishes it actually elevates the taste of the dish. On the contrary, “bangals” love their food “tel e jhaal e” (rich and spicy). I being “bati” (mother ghonti and father bangal) (very complicated!!!!) have seen both in our house. But there are some preparations which are similar in almost all parts of West Bengal. I guess, this is one of them. Since, I am a resident of Jalpaiguri, our food habits are predominantly “Bangal” kind. But, this is how, my mother cooks Biulir daal of course minus the sugar. 😂

Course: Main course

Cuisine: Bengali (Indian)

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Servings:2-3

Ingredients

• 1 cup of urad daal/ kolai r daal/ biulir daal
•  1 teaspoon of ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon of fennel/ mouri paste
• 2-3 dry red chili
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons of ghee
• ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• ½ teaspoon of fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon of asafoetida/hing
• 2 bay leaves

Directions

1. Dry roast the daal till you start getting a nutty flavor. Do not brown the  daal. (You can skip this step and directly pressure cook the daal)
2. Now, wash the daal properly and take the daal in a pressure cooker.
3. To the daal add the turmeric powder and salt.
4. Pressure cook the daal till the daal is completely cooked. Do not over cook the daal else the daal will turn mushy. The daal should be such that it should retain its shape but should be completely cooked.
5. In a kadai, melt the ghee. Once the ghee is hot, add the red chilies, fennel seeds, asafoetida and the bay leaves.
6. As the oil turns aromatic, add the cooked daal to the kadai.
7. Add the sugar to the kadai and continue cooking the daal till you achieve the desired consistency.
8. Before turning off the flame, add the ginger and mouri paste to the kadai and mix properly.
9. Turn off the flame and serve the daal with steamed rice and vegetable of your choice.

Step by step instructions to prepare Kolai daal

Dry roast the daal till you start getting a nutty flavor. Do not brown the  daal.

Now, wash the daal properly and take the daal in a pressure cooker. To the daal add the turmeric powder and salt. Pressure cook the daal till the daal is completely cooked. Do not over cook the daal else the daal will turn mushy. The daal should be such that it should retain its shape but should be completely cooked.

In a kadai, melt the ghee. Once the ghee is hot, add the red chilies, asafoetida, fennel seeds and the bay leaves.

As the oil turns aromatic, add the cooked daal to the kadai.

Add the sugar to the kadai and continue cooking the daal till you achieve the desired consistency. Before turning off the flame, add the ginger and mouri paste to the kadai and mix properly.

Turn off the flame and serve the daal with steamed rice and vegetable of your choice.

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