Daal ghosht

I have seen this dish pop up on my Insta feed a few times recently, and been inspired to cook it myself. My recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cup chana daal/split pea lentils, washed and soaked in double water for 3 hours or more
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
A pinch of fennel seeds
3 bay leaves
4 cardamoms
5 peppercorns
4 cloves
1 large cinnamon stick
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
4 small onions, cut in chunks
1 green capsicum, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1.2 kg mixed mutton
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander stalks
2 tsp turmeric powder
3 tsp chilli powder (to taste)
3 tsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp garam masala powder
Chopped coriander to garnish

Firstly soak your chana daal for a minimum of 3 hours at least. This will soften the daal to cook in the least amount of time.

Then in a heavy bottomed pot, put in your oil and once hot, add your whole spices (cumin seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaves, cardamoms, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon stick). Once oil is infused, add in your minced garlic and ginger and brown. When browned, put in your onions, capsicum, tomato, meat, salt and chopped coriander stalks.

Mix well, cover and cook on a low heat for 45 minutes, until water has evaporated and onions have dissolved. Stir regularly and add water if it is getting dry.

After 45 minutes, add in your powdered spices (turmeric, chilli, curry, cumin, coriander and garam masala) and stir well. Also drain your chana daal and add in at this point. Stir well and give a quick blast on medium to high heat for 5 minutes. Then put on low and add enough boiling water to cover the meat and lentils. Stir again, scraping off any bits on the bottom or sides, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, the sauce should have reduced. Check to see if lentils break between your fingers. They should be soft, but if not there then cook for a further 15 minutes. Once cooked, turn heat off and garnish with coriander.

And that's it. Serve with hot basmati rice and a salad.

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ❤