Gujarati Thali Complete Meal Dal Rice

Method

1. 1

   Cook the toor dal first: Pressure cook 1 cup toor dal with 3 cups water and 1/2 tsp turmeric for 4 to 5 whistles. Mash well and add water to flowing consistency. This can be done in advance.

2. 2

   Make the dal tadka: Heat 2 tbsp ghee. Add mustard seeds — pop. Add curry leaves, asafoetida, dried red chilli. Add ginger paste and garlic paste — stir 1 minute. Add chopped tomato — cook 4 minutes. Turn to low. Add spice powders — stir 1 minute. Pour into the cooked dal. Add jaggery, lemon juice and salt. Simmer 5 minutes. The Gujarati dal should be slightly sweet, slightly sour and lightly spiced all at once.

3. 3

   Make the shaak: Heat 2 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add cubed potato. Cook on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add turmeric, red chilli powder and coriander powder — stir 2 minutes on low heat. Add 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook 10 minutes until tender. Add jaggery and lemon juice. Cook 2 minutes. The shaak should have the Gujarati sweet-sour balance.

4. 4

   Cook the rice: Wash 1.5 cups rice. Cook by absorption — add rice to 2.5 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce to lowest heat, cover and cook 18 minutes. Rest 5 minutes covered. Fluff gently.

5. 5

   Make the rotli dough: Mix 2 cups wheat flour with a few drops of oil and enough water — about 3/4 cup — to form a soft, smooth dough. Knead 5 minutes. Rest 10 minutes. Divide into 12 balls.

6. 6

   Roll the rotli very thin: Gujarati rotli (chapati) is rolled much thinner than North Indian chapati — almost transparent. Roll each ball into a very thin round, about 20 to 22 cm, dusting with flour as needed.

7. 7

   Cook the rotli on high heat: Heat a flat griddle on high. Place one rotli on it. Cook 30 seconds — small bubbles will appear. Flip. Cook 30 seconds. Then hold directly over a medium gas flame with tongs for 5 to 10 seconds on each side until brown spots appear and the rotli puffs. Apply ghee immediately. Keep in a covered container.

8. 8

   Warm the papad: Roast a papad directly over a low gas flame, rotating constantly for 30 seconds until it puffs and develops brown spots. Or fry in hot oil for 10 seconds.

9. 9

   Assemble the thali: On a round steel plate (thali), place a small bowl of dal, a portion of the shaak, a mound of rice, 2 to 3 rotli, the papad, a small portion of pickle and a few slices of raw onion.

10. 10

    The sequence of eating: In Gujarat, the meal is not eaten course by course but simultaneously — a bite of rice with dal, a bite of rotli with shaak, a piece of papad between. Begin by pouring a little dal over the rice. Add ghee over the rotli before eating.

11. 11

    Note: The Gujarati thali is considered one of the most balanced regional meals in India — it includes protein (dal), carbohydrate (rice and rotli), seasonal vegetable, probiotic (pickle), digestive (papad). The sweet-sour-spicy balance (mithu-khatu-tiku) present in both the dal and the shaak is the defining flavour principle of all Gujarati cooking.