Motor dal is a special Bengali dish that’s a real treat! It comes from dried peas—part of the Pisum sativum family—hulled and split to make what we call matar dal. This classic Bengali recipe gets its unique flavor from radhuni, a local spice. I love serving this tasty dal with parboiled rice and a veggie side, like a cosy cauliflower curry (aloo phulkopir dalna) in the winter or a light bottle gourd dish (lau) during the summer months.
Peas vs Whole Dried Yellow Peas vs Dried Yellow Split Peas
Once peas are harvested, they are dried and peeled to get whole dried yellow peas. These are popularly known as safed matar, which makes for a very popular Indian street food called matar ke chole. In Kolkata, they are known as Ghugni.
When these whole dried yellow peas are further split into halves, they are then called dried yellow split pea dal. Today in this post I will share an easy way of making this yellow split pea dal, also known as matar dal or motor dal.
Ingredients for yellow split peas dal recipe in Bengali style (Motor Dal or মটর ডাল )
- Yellow Split Peas Dal or Matar Dal or Motor Dal
- Wild Celery Seeds or Randhuni in Bengali or Ajmod in Hindi – This is an uncommon ingredient, often found in Bengali cooking but rarely used elsewhere. Alternate to this would be Panchforon or Bengali mix-spices.
- Dried Bay Leaves
- Green Chillies
- Mustard Oil
- Salt & Turmeric Powder
- Sugar
The legume family is quite extensive, and Indian cuisine has several dal recipes. Interestingly, Toor Dal (Split Pigeon Peas) and Chana Dal (Split Yellow Gram) are all referred to as Yellow Dals, but they belong to different legume families.
Recipe instructions for Bengali motor dal
- Wash the dal and pressure cook with some salt, turmeric powder, dried bay leaf, and 1 tbsp of mustard oil. Matar ke Dal or yellow split peas cook very quickly, so be cautious otherwise, they will get overcooked and become mushy. So three quick whistles should be enough
- Heat oil in a pan and temper it with radhuni or wild celery seeds or ajmod and green chili. Allow them to splutter for a couple of seconds
- Then pour in the cooked dal and stir
- Add sugar and check for seasoning. Add salt if required
- Adjust the consistency of the dal by adding water.
- Serve with a wedge of lime.
Serving suggestions
Traditionally, this simple motor dal cooked in Bengali style is served with hot rice, or bhaat as a part of the lunch meal. This meal might also comprise a dry vegetable-based side dish and/or a non-vegetarian curry dish. I love this dal with a generous squirt of lemon juice for an extra flavor kick!
More Bengali dal recipes
- Musur Dal Sheddho
- Bengali Kacha Aam diye Motor Dal Recipe
- Shobji Diye Arhar Dal – Toor Dal Recipe with Vegetable
- Radhaballavi Recipe | Bengali Urad Dal Kachori
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Motor dal or split pea dal is a unique Bengali dal recipe that has a unique flavor and taste. Serve this with steamed rice and a wedge of lime
- ⅓ cup Matar ke Dal or Motor Dal
- 1 Dried Bay Leaf
- ¼ tsp Radhuni or Wild Celery Seeds or Ajmod
- 1 Green Chillies
- Salt to Taste
- 1 + 1 tbsp Mustard Oil
- ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
- ½ tsp Sugar
Pressure cook the Dal with Water, Salt, Turmeric Powder, dried Bay leaf and 1 tbsp of Mustard Oil. Matar ke Dal or Yellow split peas cooks very quickly so be cautious otherwise they would get overcooked and become mushy. 3 quick whistles should be enough.
Heat oil in a pan and temper it with radhuni or wild celery seeds or ajmod and green chilli. Allow them to splutter for couple of seconds.
Then pour in the cooked dal and stir.
Add sugar and check for seasoning. Add salt if required.
Add water as required.
Serve with a wedge of lime.
This post was first published on March 29, 2020, and later republished on November 6, 2024, with a more elaborate description of the recipe.
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