Sikkim is the 8th state from north east India, brother of the seven sisters. Mt Kanchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world is situated in Sikkim. It has beautiful rugged mountains, deep valleys and dense forests with many lakes and water falls. It is a paradise for tourists. Its capital is Gangtok. Sikkim has lots of Buddhist monasteries, so it is known as the ‘Land of Monasteries’.
Among the many festivals of Sikkim, Peng Lhabsol is one of their favorites and is celebrated in the month of June. The festival is a homage to Mt. Kanchenjunga. Sikkimese believe that Mt Kanchenjunga is the guardian and protector of Sikkim. During the festival, the people perform a warrior dance wearing fearful masks, of dragons and animals to scare away the evils and bring in peace and happiness to their home land.
Sikkim is bordered by the international boundaries of Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan in the west, north and east respectively.
The Indian state of West Bengal lies to the south.
Food:
Rice is the staple food of Sikkim. Sikkimese cuisine is flavorful and delicious. They use a lot of fermented food like the Nepalis and Tibetans. Their traditional food is ‘Dal Bhaat’-that is rice and lentil soup. Kalo dal is a popular dal, cooked with black gram (not fermented). Another favorite dish from Sikkim is Masayra, in which they use the fermented black gram.
We will be cooking Kalo dal, which means Black dal. Urad dal has a black covering which gives the black color to the dal. Interestingly, this dal is cooked in iron vessel to enhance the blackness of the dish.
Kalo dal … in Sikkimese style
We used the sabut urad dal (black gram lentils) and pressure cooked it. The addition of the mustard oil while cooking, gave a very creamy and a distinct flavor to the dal. The kalo dal is a popular dish in every household of Sikkim. You may try it out once. We enjoyed the dal.
You need:
100 gm black urad dal
1 tbsp mustard oil
1 inch ginger finely chopped
¼ tsp turmeric powder salt to taste
Tempering:
1 tbsp refined oil/ghee (clarified butter)
1 medium size finely chopped onion
5-6 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 green chillies slit
1tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped for garnishing
Method:
- Wash and soak the dal overnight.
2. Wash coriander leaves and chop them finely.
3. Peel, wash and finely chop the onion.
4. Wash, remove the stems from the chillies and make a small slit on the broader side.
5. Wash, peel and finely chop the ginger.
6. Peel, wash and chop the garlic finely.
7. Rinse the soaked dal and cook it in a pressure cooker with 1 tbsp of mustard oil, 1 tbsp chopped ginger, ¼ tsp of turmeric, ½ tsp of salt and 1 cup warm water.
8. After the first whistle, lower the flame to its minimum and cook it for 3 minutes.
9. Allow the cooker to cool down on its own before opening the cooker lid.
10. Add ½ cup of warm water if necessary and stir in gently.
11. Heat the oil over medium heat, add chopped onion and saute for few seconds.
12. Add the slit green chillies and chopped garlic and stir well.
13. Add a little cooked dal and mix well.
14. Pour the remaining dal and bring it to boil.
15. Mash the cooked dal a little. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes and switch off the heat.
16. Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.
17. Kalo dal is ready to be served with steamed rice.
Happy Cooking!
Coming up next……………. Dal from Tripura.
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Dal On The Table 
The addition of raw mustard oil during pressure cooking is as interesting as adding a little of the cooked dyle while tempering. Keep Cooking!
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Thank you so much Ankush. It is so encouraging to hear from my readers.
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vow Indira I must try this….
Will try mashing the dal …we leave the dal to cook for too long a period…I liked the suggestion of mashing it…and incorporating the ginger as well..
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Thank you Madhu. Do let me know when you try out the recipe…..
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Feeling proud of you and our country having so much diversity.😊
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Thank you Abha. I feel so inspired when I know my friends are reading…..
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Must try it out…looks interesting!
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Thank you Leeta. It is so encouraging to hear from my readers….. Keep reading …
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Will try this one out. Adding ginger to the dal sounds interesting.
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Thank you Karmae. Yes, ginger gives a very delicate flavour – I will be happy if you would try it out.
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Love this recipe so much… totally different way of cooking black urad dal…Also love the way you introduce the state and its specifications before leading us to the recipe…
Must try recipe …yet again ..
Thanks so much Missy Jethai…
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Yes Hrishika, I thought my readers will find it interesting to know a little about the state and its location on the map , before reading the recipe.
Please do try out some recipes and let me know. Thank you Hrishika.
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All your recipes are awesome aai…keep sharing 😀
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Thank you Protima.
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Looks delicious,will surely try.
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Thank you Rini.
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