The Staple of Indian Kitchen and its History: The Story of Dal

Indian cuisine has fans all across the world who love a number of different facets of the food that comes out of the country. While a lot of them love the flavors and spices, others love the variety of ingredients that go into making one delicacy. But the biggest category is of fans of the simplest yet tastiest Indian preparation served in almost all the restaurants in Jaipur; Dal. The split version of pulses, dal has become an indispensable part of the Indian cuisine. Right from the simplest Dal Tadka (Dal created with spice tempering) to the very intricately created Dal Makhani, it entices anyone and everyone.

The range that is available today in Dal has come to be as an ode to the diversity of not just culture that India is a melting pot for, but also to the diverse history that the country has seen. A history that does not speak volumes about the importance of this favorite staple of Indians, but has left several pieces of evidence to tell us that it was just as indispensable as today.

As Old As 5300 Years

Owing to the studies of micro flavor control, Indian cuisine today, especially Dal, has become a gastronomical experience. However, history reveals that our love for Dal is not something newfound. It runs in our culture right from the beginning of the Indus Valley Civilization. And not just that, evidence even suggests that maybe the split pulses made their entry in our cuisine around this time only.

The farming civilization of Indus valley not only used the fertile lands to cultivate legumes, but was also storing them in large granaries as their food, and that of their domesticated animals.

History does not stop there to write the story of Dal for us to read. There are a number of mentions that further tell us about the elevated status of the Dal in not just the common households, but in the important royal events of several kings of ancient India. A clear mention in the scriptures tells us that the Dal preparation of Ghughni was served at Chandragupta Maurya’s wedding, a delicacy that is still a favorite in Eastern India. Apart from this, there are mentions of slow steam-cooked Bengal Gram and the brilliant Panchmel Dal of Mewar.

Medieval India and The Mughals

The medieval era of India was mostly ruled by the kings who come from the west and adopted the country as their home. The most famous name in this list is that of the Mughals, and the pioneering emperor, Akbar The Great. After his marriage to the Rajput Princess Jodha Bai, Even Akbar’s kitchen got touched with the flavors of Panchmel Dal. The ascent of a slowly cooked mixture of 5 Dals in a predominantly non-vegetarian kitchen had only just begun at Akbar’s time. It went on to peak at the time of his grandson Shah Jahan, whose court had its own special Royal Panchmel Dal Recipe, and his great-grandson Aurangzeb, who was a strict vegetarian.

Another great piece of evidence comes from Shah Jahan’s 3rd son, Murad Baksh. Much like his great-grandfather, Akbar, Murad was also fond of Dal. And to please him, his cooks at his city of Muradaba created a soft, velvety, and sweet dal, which is now a famous delicacy known as Moradabadi Dal, a cuisine you can now taste at the best of top-rated restaurants in Jaipur. And much like it was back in the day, Dal has evolved to be a more preferred delicacy made at home, with every hand tweaking the favorite flavor with their own secret ingredient, spreading more love.