East Indian
Arhar Dal (Bihari-Style Toor Dal)
Arhar Dal (Bihari-Style Toor Dal) is East Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre, the protein alongside, and the soup. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup toor dal (arhar dal)
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 dried red chilies
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp salt
How to cook it
- Rinse the arhar dal and simmer it with the water, turmeric, and half the salt until soft and mushy, about 25 minutes, mashing lightly.
- Heat the mustard oil in a small pan until it shimmers, then add the cumin seeds and dried red chilies.
- Add the garlic and cook until golden, then stir in the chopped tomato and cook until it softens, about 4 minutes.
- Pour the tempering over the simmering dal, add the remaining salt, and let it bubble together for 5 minutes.
- Finish with cilantro and serve hot with rice or roti, the everyday centerpiece of a Bihari thali.
Serve it with
A East Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Arhar Dal (Bihari-Style Toor Dal), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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The cooked vegetable
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What it is eaten with
A course labelled with another kitchen's name comes from a cuisine in the same family, which is where this plate usually borrows it from.
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand. Arhar Dal (Bihari-Style Toor Dal) carries none of them. That is a checked answer rather than an ingredient list nobody read.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | No | |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Bands, not numbers. Dinejot does not weigh anybody's food, so it says light, moderate or hearty and stops there. This dish was read and set by hand.
- Calorie band
- Light
- Protein
- Medium
- Protein quality
- Partial
- Food groups it covers
- Pulses and Vegetables
- How this was set
- Hand audited
When to cook it
Arhar Dal (Bihari-Style Toor Dal) takes about 30 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is easy going. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
Watch someone make it
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More to cook
Cooked from the same things
Other dishes built on pigeon pea.
From the same kitchens
More cooking from East India.
Does the same job on the plate
Swap any of these in when you want a meal the same shape.
Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.