The Jharkhand state is one of the states in the Eastern zone of India. Ranchi is its capital. Jharkhand is known for it rich mineral resources and forests. It is also known as the land of forest.
Sarhul is one of Jharkhand popular festivals which commemorates the new year of the Oraon community. It is during spring season when the sal trees blossom with flowers. Shalai is the name of the sal blossom. Men, women and children dress in colourful ethnic attire, dance and sing. During the festival they worship trees particularly the sal trees. Basically, in this festival they worship nature and offer the sal blossom to their deities.
Jharkhand is bordered by Bihar in the north, West Bengal in the east, Odisha in the south, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh in the west.
Food:
The staple foods of Jharkhand are rice, dal and vegetables. They have many interesting and exquisite dishes with lentil. Khuska is one of the most popular foods in Jharkhand. It is a rice dish like biriyani. People say that without trying Khuska your trip to Jharkhand is incomplete.
We will try out one of their favorite dals Kulthi. In English it is called Horse gram. Horse gram can be substituted by green gram or chana dal. Basically, whole gram with the skin is used.
Horse gram is also known as Madras gram, Gahat and Hurali and so on.
The scientific name of Horse gram is Macrotyloma uniflorum.
Horse gram is nutritious and has lots of medicinal properties.
Kulthi Dal
Although Kulthi dal is popular, I never got a chance to cook it. This is my first-time cooking Kulthi dal and it came out very well. We enjoyed the unique flavor and taste of the dal. I would definitely love to cook it again.
You need:
100 gm Horse gram/Kulthi
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 green chillies
2 medium size tomatoes
A few sprigs of coriander leaves
½ tsp salt
For tempering:
1 tbsp oil
2 Dried red chillis
A few garlic cloves
1 tsp of cumin seeds Salt to taste
Method:
- Wash and soak the dal overnight.
- Discard the water. Wash the dal one more time and drain it.
3. Wash the chillies and cut off the stems. Make small slits on the broader side of the chillies.
4. Wash and cut the tomatoes into cubes.
5. Wash and chop the coriander leaves finely.
6. Pressure cook the dal, with salt, turmeric,1 green chilli, the tomatoes and 1 cup of warm water.
7. After the first whistle, lower the heat and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Allow the cooker to cool down on its own.
9. Open the cooker. Check the lentil, it must be soft and yet retains the shape.
10. If undercooked, cook it for a 1 or 2 minutes more.
11. Open the lid and gently stir in the lentil with 1 cup of warm water and place it over medium heat and let it simmer.
12. Crush 1 or 2 tblsp of the dal for a creamy gravy.
13. Keep it simmering for about 1 minute.
14. Add the chopped coriander leaves and stir well and switch off the heat.
Tempering:
15. Heat a pan with 1 tblsp of oil. Lower the heat and add the cumin seeds. Stir it for a few second and then add the dried red chillies.
16. Add the chopped garlic and switch off the heat. Garlic burns very easily.
17. Stir fry the garlic till lightly brown.
18. Pour the fried spices over the cooked dal.
19. Switch on the heat and stir the dal well and bring it to boil.
20. Adjust the salt.
21. Kulthi dal is ready to be served with roti or steamed rice.
Happy Cooking !
Coming up next ………………Dal from Odisha.
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Dal On The Table 
This dal is very popular in Uttarakhand also. Has many health benefits too.
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Thank you Abha. They use it in South as well.
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Easy and simple…should try it …
hope to get it on Amazon!!
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Yes it is very easy and tasty. You may try it out Madhu.
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Such a delicious recipe Missy Jethai…n seems easy to make too…Thanks for your expert tips….
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Never tried Kulthi dal. This is nice and simple. Thank you.
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Thank you kkasmbwd. Yes, it is nice, simple and tasty too. You may try it out.
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Love the overview with the map, good for those who haven’t been to India & love geography & food.
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Thank you so much, Maven, for your kind and thoughtful comment! It truly means a lot to me. I also had a chance to glance through your 2alepho and found it fascinating. I’m looking forward to reading it in more depth soon.
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It’s Alice’s mum, Anne. Nice to meet you the other day.
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