Rajasthani Panchmeli Dal or Panchratan Dal or is a popular dish from Rajasthani cuisine.
In Hindi, the word ‘panch’ translates to number five and ‘mel’ translates to mixture. So, the word translates to ‘Mix of 5 lentils’. In some parts of Rajasthan, this dal is also known as Panchratna dal. Once again ‘panch’ translates to number 5, and ‘ratna’ means jewels. This means ‘5 jewels dal’, where each lentil is considered as a jewel.
If there is one dish with which Indian cuisine, and in that sense, most Indians, share an umbilical-like connect, it must be the humble dal. An indispensable part of most Indian meals, and there is a world of them, ranging from the most basic (the simple tarka dal found on most restaurant menus) to the decadent (the extraordinary smoky dal makhani). Dal is packed with proteins and nutrients hence plays an important role in Indian cuisine.
Panchmeli dal is noy only served with baati but is an everyday dal with rice, and roti’s. Panchmeli dal has intense aromatic flavours as it is tempered with spicy onion tomato masala and also cardamoms and cloves.
The recipe of panchmeli dal differs from region to region, person to person. Some make it without onion and garlic, some cook it with a lot of tomatoes. I like this dal with onion, garlic and tomatoes, tempered in ghee. A simple and delicious dal recipe!
