Sweet and Sour Lentil Recipe

This dal or lentil is famous authentic Gujarati recipe where it is popularly known an Khatti Meethi dal (khatti means sour and meethi means sweet). Very healthy with lentils and tasty with Indian spices. It is packed with all types of taste in it. It has spiciness, sourness and sweetness too. Super simple which takes very less time and effort to prepare. Perfect for lunch. Makes your meal very comforting and heavenly.

Dry kokum is used to give sourness to this dal. The scientific name of kokum is garcinia indica. This is widely used in Ayurveda. This is used as souring agent in this dal. The unique sour taste of the kokum makes the dish so delicious. But if you don't have kokum, use tamarind or lemon juice.

You can adjust the ingredients as per your preference to balance the taste between sour, sweet and spicy.

1. In a bowl, take 1/2 cup of toor dal or split pigeon pea lentils, rinse it thoroughly for 2-3 times using fresh water and soak it for 10-15 minutes or more ( soaking lentils fastens the cooking).
2. After soaking, transfer this lentil to the cooker, add 1 cup of water or water enough to cook the lentil. Add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder and a pinch of salt. Close the lid of cooker and take 4-5 whistles or until lentils cooked properly. Switch off the flame and let the pressure settles on its own (you can cook lentils in pot too).
3. Meanwhile, wash and chop 1-2 tomatoes and 2-3 tablespoons of fresh coriander leaves. Keep aside.
4. Once the pressure settles naturally, open the lid and mash the lentils properly using hand blender, masher or back of ladle till smooth and mushy. Add 1 cup of water and keep aside.
5. In a pan heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil or ghee, splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Add 1-2 strings of fresh curry leaves and 1/4 teaspoon of hing or asafoetida. Add 1-2 slit or chopped green chilies. Fry everything for a minute.
6. Add cooked and mashed dal to the seasoning, add chopped tomatoes and coriander leaves. Let it comes to boil in a medium flame.
7. Add 1 teaspoon of red chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala powder (adjust as per taste). Mix well.
8. Add 4-5 dried kokum and 1-2 tablespoons of jaggery (or add sugar). Add salt to taste. Mix everything well and boil it in medium low flame for 4-5 minutes or until flavors are melded. Switch off the flame. Garnish with more coriander leaves (optional).
9. Serve hot this dal with rice and enjoy.

1. If you feel your dal is too sour, add more jaggery or sugar to balance the taste.
2. You can replace kokum with tamarind extract or lemon juice. But kokum gives the different and best taste.
3. This dal is usually prepared in thin consistency, but if you want you can adjust consistency as per your preference.
4. Adding ghee in tempering enhances the flavor of this dish.
5. Cook lentils very well to get perfect smooth dal.
6. Instead of pressure cooking, you can cook lentils in pot till mushy. Stir in between and make sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
7. You can even soak lentils in hot water for 5 minutes and use. This also makes lentils cook faster.
8. Instead of kokum you can use kokum extract too. Just soak 2-3 pieces of dry kokum in hot water for 5-10 minutes, squeeze the juice and add it to the dal (strain the pulp and discard after extracting the kokum juice).