Dal from Mizoram

Posted byDalonthetablePosted inUncategorized

Mizoram state is in north east India and is one of the Seven Sister States. Its capital is Aizawl.

Mizoram means –‘Land of the Mizos’- Mizo is the name of the native inhabitants of the state, and ‘ram’ means ‘land’.  Mizoram is also known as the ‘land of the blue mountains’.  The hills are overlapped by gushing rivers and water falls.

Mizoram is famous for its bamboo dance, known as Cheraw.  Boys and girls dress in their traditional attire to perform this mesmerizing dance.  The boys tap and clap the bamboos giving a beautiful rhythm, and the girls gracefully hop in and out the bamboos. The bamboo dance requires a good coordination between the bamboos clappers and the dancers.  Earlier Cheraw was performed as a ritual, on a particular occasion, but now it has become mandatory for all occasions and festivals.

Mizoram shares the international boarder with Myanmar (Burma) in the east and south and Bangladesh on the west.

To the north lies Assam and Manipur, while the state of Tripura lies on the west.

Food:

Rice is the staple food of Mizoram.  They love chicken, pork and beef. Smoked pork is very popular. They cook their food almost with no oil and spice.  They have plenty of green vegetables and herbs. Their food is very heathy and delicious.  To enjoy such food, one must acquire the taste.

Dailuaa (Lentil curry in Mizo style)


Just before working on Mizoram, I called up an old school friend of mine, Mami, a native of Mizoram, and asked her for a dal recipe.

“You know Indira,”’ she said, “our food is very simple without oil and spices.”  Yes, indeed, very simple but delicious and nourishing too.

The bay leaf gives a light herbal flavor. It is kind of a soup served with steamed rice.

You need:

100 gm moong dal

1-2 mustard greens

2-3 bay leaves (tejpata)

1 green chilli

¼ tsp turmeric powder Salt to taste

Method:

  1. Wash the moong dal and place it on a cooking pan.
  2. Add bay leaf, chili and a little salt. 
  3. Add 1 cup of hot water and a little turmeric powder. 
  4. Place the pan on heat and bring it to boil. 
  5. Lower the heat and cook dal cook over low heat until cooked.  It will take about 10 to 15 minutes

6. In the meantime, wash and chop the mustard greens roughly

7. Add the greens on the cooked dal. 

8. Add little warm water if needed.  Cook for another 1 or 2 minutes more and remove the dal from the heat.

9. Serve hot with steamed rice or have it along with bread as soup.

Happy Cooking !

Coming up next ………………..  Dal from Nagaland.

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18 thoughts on “Dal from Mizoram”

  2. very interesting method using no oil or spices.

    Getting to know so much about our country’s cuisine through your blog.

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  6. Thank you for these posts, they are very informative.

    Will be making dal from Mizoram soon. The recipe is simple and easy to follow.

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  9. Super recipe Missy Jethai…

    So simple , healthy n yet so different and unique..

    Love your recipes so much..It’s a real pleasure reading n making them …

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  10. The beauty of Mizo food is that whatever you have you get the taste/flavour of the main ingredient; dal in this case.

    In rest of India, the tempering and spices camouflage the real flavour/taste of the main ingredient, be it vegetables or chicken or meat. Great going!

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