Name: Rajasthani Panchmel Dal Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Mix Dal (or, ¼ cup of each dals (Hari Moong, Masoor, Arhar, Chana & Urad Chilka)); 6 tbsp Mustard Oil; ½ tsp Carraway Seeds; ¼ tsp Hing; 4 Tomatoes pureed (Large); 10 Cloves of Garlic; 2 inches Ginger; 1½ tbsp Coriander powder; 1 tbsp Cumin Powder; 1 tsp Garam Masala powder; 1 tsp Red Chili powder; 2 tbsp Ghee; ½ cup Coriander leaves for garnish

Panchmel Dal or Panchratan Dal is a traditional Rajasthani mixed dal recipe that includes five different lentils and is often served along with Bati, thus making the famous combo of Dal-Bati-Churma. Over the period I have tweaked the traditional recipe for panchmel dal and this is the one that always hits the spot at my home.

What I love about this Rajasthani mixed dal is that it is no onion & garlic dal recipe and requires minimum spices. These days I am a huge fan of one-pot recipes, and if they turn out to be lentil recipes like this one, they come up in my meal rotation very frequently.

Table of Contents

Panchmel Dal ingredients

Mixed Dal comprising of Hari Moong (Green Lentils), Masoor (Red Lentil), Arhar (Split Pea), Chana (Bengal Gram) & Urad Chilka (White Lentils) – all mixed in equal proportion
Garlic & Ginger
Tomatoes
Spices like Carraway Seeds, Hing, etc
Powdered Spices like Turmeric, Cumin, Coriander, etc.

Recipe instructions for this Rajasthani dal recipe

Pressure-cook the dal with salt, turmeric powder, and a drizzle of mustard oil. Allow 4-5 whistles and let the pressure cooker cool on its own. If the dal isn’t cooked yet, allow 2-3 whistles more.
Heat Mustard oil and ghee in a pan and temper it with Hing and Carraway Seeds (Shahi jeera). As they splutter, add the tomato puree, grated ginger, and garlic. Fry this on medium heat.
As it reduces in half, add the powdered spices and fry for the next 4-5 minutes.
Now, add the cooked dal to the mix and stir. Lower the heat and let it simmer for the next 5-7 minutes. However, give it a stir from the bottom every minute, otherwise it will stick to the bottom and burn.
Check for the salt at this stage. Add the chopped Coriander leaves and serve.

Pro tips

Always soak the dal for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight for ease of cooking. Also, those who suffer from bloating can benefit from soaking the lentils beforehand. Always discard the soaking liquid and wash the lentils a couple of times before cooking
It ok to omit any particular dal from the list in case it isn’t available. This panchratan dal recipe is super flexible and even if you skip 1 or 2 varieties of dal, it tastes equally good.
The combination of mustard oil and ghee gives this dal recipe its unique taste. So, try to use either of them or both.
I have tried this recipe with onion as well, but it didn’t sit well with us. So I won’t suggest using them. You can, however, serve sliced onion as a side salad in case you like.
Adjust the number of tomatoes as per the size available.

Serving suggestions

I like to serve this hearty dal with some ghee-slathered rotis or Indian chapattis. In winter, this dal can also be served with Indian parathas or naans.

In case you want to make your meal healthier, then you can pair this Indian dal recipe with spinach roti or palak paratha as well.

For rice lovers, this dal goes best with plain steamed rice. In case you are planning to serve this dal on a special occasion, then you can go for some Jeera rice or Peas Pulao as accompaniment.

More Indian dal recipes

Cholar Dal recipe in Bengali Style — Cholar Dal

Shobji diye Arhar Dal recipe — Cholar Dal

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Rajasthani Panchmel Dal Recipe

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

1 hr

Panchmel Dal or Panchratan Dal is a traditional Rajasthani mixed lentil recipe that includes five different lentils, and is often served along with Bati, thus making the famous combo of Dal-Bati-Churma.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Rajasthani

Keyword: Gluten Free Recipes, Lentil Recipes

Author: Priyanka

Ingredients

1 cup ‌Mix Dal or, ¼ cup of each dals (Hari Moong, Masoor, Arhar, Chana & Urad Chilka)
6 tbsp Mustard Oil
½ tsp Carraway Seeds
¼ tsp ‌Hing
4 Tomatoes pureed Large
10 Cloves of Garlic
2 inches Ginger
1½ tbsp ‌Coriander powder
1 tbsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala powder
1 tsp Red Chili powder
2 tbsp Ghee
½ cup ‌Coriander leaves for garnish

Instructions

Pressure cook the dal with salt, turmeric powder and a drizzle of mustard oil. Allow 4-5 whistles and let the pressure cooker cool on its own. If the dal isn't cooked yet, allow 2-3 whistles more.
Heat Mustard oil and ghee in a pan and temper it with Hing and Carraway Seeds (Shahi jeera). As they splutter, add the tomato puree, grated and ginger and garlic. Fry this on medium heat.
As it reduces in half, add the powdered spices and fry for next 4-5 minutes.
Now, add the cooked dal in the mix and stir. Lower the heat and let it simmer for next 5-7 minutes. However, give it a stir from the bottom in every minute, other wise it will stick to the bottom and burn.
Check for the salt at this stage. Add the chopped Coriander leaves and serve.