Once upon a time, (here it goes... another long-winded food blogger life story) I was a first time Mama to my now five-year-old girl who JUST. DIDN'T. SLEEP. It was a combination of her just not being a naturally great sleeping baby and me being inexperienced and too scared to try doing anything different, so I just succumbed to rocking and shushing and feeding her to sleep every hour of the night.
Yes, you read that right. Every freaking hour of the night. She woke up every hour until she was around one years old, and then proceeded to wake up 2-3x a night until she was 3. And you thought you had a bad sleeper?
Anyway, Fatima, CUT TO THE CHASE... what does this have to do with Dal Gosht?
So during that first year of her life, I was pretty much a sleep deprived lunatic. I don't think I cooked at all during that year, because it was just so bad. Can you blame me? I stopped blogging during that time too, I was just SO out of my senses.
ANYWAY, (finally getting to the meat here, pun intended), eventually once she turned one and I began to regain my sanity and senses (hurrah for getting 4hrs of sleep a night instead of 1!), I finally returned back to the kitchen.
And I realised...
*drum roll*
I had forgotten how to cook.
For reals. I legitimately didn't know anymore. My memory had been erased. Clean slate.
I felt like the same rookie beginner who had gotten married at 20 having never cooked a curry my entire life. There I was, burning onions, not cooking the lamb for enough, serving hard, semi-raw dal, too much salt. All the classic rookie mistakes. Cue identity crisis.
I fell into a bit of a rut of just cooking three things on repeat - Chicken Pulao, Aloo Gosht and Dal Gosht. It was the only things I managed to master and felt safe cooking.
This rut lasted AGES - honestly I think it lasted a whole year until my husband asked me why I was just cooking the same three things on shuffle without fail... And honestly, I think I still hadn't recovered from the system shock of the extreme sleep deprivation from the first year of my daughter's life because I was like 'WHAT? HAVE I REALLY?! NO WAY!'
Guys, I honestly didn't even realise what I was doing. At this point I am 100% aware I sound pretty much insane. I 95% probably was.
Why am I telling you all this?
Because, folks, this girl KNOWS her Dal Gosht. I cooked it almost twice a week for a whole year. On repeat. I've made this stuff on 2 hours of sleep with a one year old on my hip. I could make this curry whilst sleeping. I KNOW MY DAL GOSHT.
What is Dal Gosht?
Dal Gosht is a traditional Pakistani and North Indian curry dish usually made with Chana Dal - yellow split peas - and any kind of red meat (lamb, mutton, beef, all good!). It's usually cooked in a masala base of onions and tomatoes like most typical curries and a variety of South Asian spices. It's hearty, comforting and perfect for a winters day meal!
How do you make Dal Gosht?
The reason why I fell into that year-long rut of making those same 3 things was because they were EASY. I find making Dal Gosht SO easy and effortless - it requires such little brain power and attention to ensuring things don't become overcooked. If you skimp on the Tadka, this EVEN MORE easy. I love it.
My Dal Gosht recipe starts off with throwing almost all the ingredients into a large pot or pan alongside some water. By almost all the ingredients, I mean the meat, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and all the spices. Let that flavour party simmer on a low heat with the lid on for between 1-1.5hrs.
On the side, you want to boil your Chana dal alongside a bit of salt and turmeric. Once it's fully cooked, turn off the heat and set aside. Times for this will vary a lot based on whether you soaked your dal before using and for how long, how old your dal is and tbh I think dal just has it's own mood and I've never been able to find consistent timings for it. So yeah, just boil it in plenty of water, topping up when needed, until it's done. I have no words of wisdom here, you're at the dal's mercy.
Once your meat mixture is done, take the lid off and turn the heat to high. Once most of the water has dried out, add in the oil - we're going to start the sautéing (bhoon) process. I have a WHOLE LOAD of information about why this is super important in my Keema Matar recipe post, but to summarise here it's really important that you sauté the meat really well, to the extent that the masala mix looks dry and concentrated and is almost about to catch at the bottom of the pan if you leave it.
See this picture? You may be tempted to leave the bhoon here and call it a day. Looks pretty dry, right? NOPE. Dry that baby out even more.
This is how dry you want it to be by the end of it. You'll be questioning where all the onions and tomatoes went! This is where all the flavour developing happens - getting lazy and not doing this step properly means compromising on flavour!
Once you've sautéed the life out of the meat, you can add in the boiled Chana dal including any water that it may be in. Mix through, add additional water if needed to thin it out, check for salt and allow this all to simmer for 5 minutes. Finish with some fresh coriander.
Finally, we add the Tadka. This step is optional but I find it adds A LOT of beautiful depth and flavour. In a pan, heat some oil or ghee and add in some sliced onions. Take your time to lovingly, slow brown these, stirring constantly to ensure they don't burn. Once they're looking brown-but-not-brown-enough, add in some cumin seeds and green/red chilli and give these a few minutes to cook. Once the onions and ready, pour the Tadka over the meat and lentil mixture.
Serve immediately!
Why do we have to boil the Chana Dal separately?
Good question. I used to ask myself this too, during my one-year long rut. Sometimes I'd cook the dal and meat together and it just wouldn't work out - the dal wouldn't cook, the meat would overcook and begin to shred, sometimes it would take hours. I tried SO many times to crack the code but I just couldn't. I lament about this in my Dal Chicken recipe.
Someone actually left a comment on that recipe telling me that tomatoes and lentils don't go together - lentils won't soften when cooked with tomatoes according to Rose Elliot, author of the book 'The Bean Book'. I'm not sure whether this is a universal rule, but I definitely found it true for me!
So this is why in my recipe, I've boiled the dal separately, and then mixed it in with the meat. It's what works for me, as a risk-averse human being - and I'd like to pass on my risk-aversity to you, too. I want to ensure there's no chance you end up with uncooked dal or meat in your curry.
Some additional Dal Gosht tips
- You can adjust the Tadka ingredients to your liking. I know a lot of people don't like fried onions, so feel free to omit them. You can also include garlic slices if you like a strong garlic taste. Other add-ons include curry leaves, ginger, chilli flakes, fenugreek seeds - anything you would like to add to your regular Dal Tadka!
- You can boil the chana dal in advance if you'd like. In fact, this whole meal is very fridge and freezer friendly. Great for meal-prep!
- If you won't be serving this immediately, hold off on the Tadka. Add the Tadka just before serving otherwise the richness of it mellows out.
- Dal really seems to absorb A LOT of water so be prepared to add quite a bit of water when you combine the dal and gosht.
How do you serve Dal Gosht?
Dal Gosht is great served with any carby companion - rice, roti or naan all are wonderful. My personal preference is rice, as shown in the pictures 🙂
Other recipes you may enjoy
Enjoy, with love x
Oh and btw, for those Mamas who may be wondering what happened of my terrible sleeper... she now sleeps like an angel. It took 3 years. For the Mamas out there losing their minds with sleep deprivation... stay strong. It'll end one day... and you'll truly wonder where the time went.
(my second born and his sleep is another story for another recipe...)
📋 Recipe
Dal Gosht (Meat & Lentils)
Ingredients
For the meat mixture
- 1.7 lb (800 g) red meat, bone in lamb, beef, goat
- 2 (220 g) medium onions chopped
- 2 (250 g) medium tomatoes chopped
- 8 cloves garlic they don't need to be minced
- 2.5 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 0.5 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 3 tablespoon (45 ml) oil
- fresh coriander chopped, for garnish
For the lentils
- 1 cup (180 g) chana dal yellow split peas, ideally soaked for at least an hour before use
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 0.5 teaspoon turmeric
For the Tadka (optional)
- ½ cup (125 ml) oil
- 1.5 (165 g) medium onion sliced finely
- 1 heaped tablespoon cumin seeds
- 2-4 chillies
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients for the meat except the oil and fresh coriander. Add ½ cup of water for lamb, 1 cup for goat and 2 cups for beef. Cover and cook on a low heat for 1hr for lamb, up to 2hrs for goat and 3+hrs for beef. Check a few times during the cook time to ensure the water hasn't completely dried out.
- Meanwhile, boil the chana dal until the dal is completely tender. Set aside till needed.
- Once the meat mixture is done, remove the lid and turn the heat to high. Begin to dry out the water.
- Once the meat mixture has dried out most of the water, add the oil. Begin to sauté this, vigorously stirring continuously until the mixture becomes very dry and glossy looking.
- Add the chana dal and any remaining water from it into the meat. You may need to add more water to get it to a suitable consistency, so add water if needed. Check the salt levels.
- Allow the meat and lentil mixture to simmer for 5 minutes
- Garnish with coriander
- (Optional Tadka step) In a small pan, heat you oil or ghee. Add the onions and fry them on a medium high heat, stirring very often to ensure they brown evenly. Once they are a light brown shade, add the cumin seeds and chillies. Once the onions are a deep brown, remove from the heat and pour this mixture directly onto the coriander garnish of the meat and lentils
- Serve immediately
Notes
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Emily B
This was so tasty! I made it with half a shoulder of lamb, cubed, but with the bone in the meat base. It tasted slightly thin as I was making it so had added tomato puree, but really it would’ve been fine without.
It made enough to satisfy four hungry adults and two hungry kids.
Thanks ☺️
Tanuja
Hi Fatima
Lovely, simple, and straightforward recipe. Will try it out soon!
However, I can advise a better way to cook chana dal—one that’s not only easy but also fast. A tip from one experienced mum to a new mum!
Soak chana dal for 7 hours or overnight. Then, put the soaked chana dal along with fresh water, turmeric, salt and pressure cooker up to 3 whistles.
Voila! It is perfectly cooked and ready to be added to the cooked gosht.
Tanuja
Looks like I posted it twice! 🙂 Opps!
Tanuja
Will try this recipe soon...simple and uncomplicated. So, a huge TIP from one experienced mum to another is how to cook chana dal easily. In the western part, Indians use boiled, sweetened chana dal to make stuffed rotis for festivals.
So, here it goes:
1. Soak the chana dal overnight, for 7 hours in normal water or in hot water for 3 hours.
2. Use a pressure cooker to cook chana dal by adding adequate water, salt and turmeric. Give 2 - 3 whistles and voila it is ready to be added to the meat!
Hope you give it a go 🙂
Sue
I am an average cook but I love a good curry and was craving dhal gosht. Your recipe and instructions were simple and uncomplicated. The optional tadka step is not optional, in my mind! I tasted the dish before and it was good but after adding the tadka, it was elevated to another level. Absolutely loved how easy and delicious this was. Thank you.
Fatima Cooks
Thank you, Sue! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! I also definitely agree that the tadka really elevates the entire dish, I wouldn't skip it! But I know some people prefer to keep the oil content minimal, or don't like fried onions, so in light of that I put it as an optional step.
Afreen
Have not yet tried this recipe, but absolutely adore how cute and quirky the story line of this recipe is! Thoroughly enjoyed reading it. And for the actual recipe - I’ll be trying it tomorrow.
Fatima Cooks
Hi Afreen, glad you enjoyed my mum brain story 😁 and I hope you enjoyed the recipe if you did get around to trying it!
Güler SHAIKH
I'm a Turkish married to an Indian. My husband wanted to eat dal ghost and I started to search. I found your recipe to be the simplest but most delicious. Thanks for sharing it.
Fatima Cooks
Happy to hear you enjoyed it! Hope you get to try more recipes from my website ❤️
Paul:-)
Hi Fatima,
I have some Shin of Venison in the freezer and was wondering what changes to the spice mix would suitable for this meat. Do you have any Ideas?
I would like to include Cardamom (both Black and Green), Cinnamon, Mace, and other warming spices.
Thank you,
Paul:-)
Fatima Cooks
I think those spices would work well whilst keeping the recipe the same! I'd start on the more conservative end of them though, especially the mace since it can be quite overpowering. if you're grinding them, perhaps 1/4 tsp of the cardamoms and cinnamon and a pinch of mace, then more added if needed. Hope it goes well!
Mary Beth
I think I found this recipe when looking for a use for some chana dal I had in my pantry. In my printout it only specifies red meat, and I happened to have ground lamb in the freezer. It turned out great! I used a lb. of meat, half of the other ingredients and a full amount of dal and Tadka. Leftovers are even better. Can's wait to try it with some goat.
Fatima Cooks
Hi Mary! What you inadvertently made is very similar to Dhansak curry, which is essentially ground meat and lentils! A win/win situation 😉 I'm so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind words.
Soniya
Hello there:)
Just wondering regarding step one (mest mixture) the oil you ask us to withhold initially,- when do i pour that in?
And also,- no red chilli in this step?
Are the 4 green chillies in the tadka step sufficient for the entire pot?
Kind regards
Soniya
Fatima Cooks
Hi Soniya!
1) the withheld oil gets used in step 4
2) We find the chilli is fine, but you can absolutely add in some chilli powder if you don't think it'll be enough for you!
Enjoy! Fatima x
shaheen khatri
I recently tried out the Dal Gosht recipe, and it was an absolute hit at my dinner table! The combination of tender meat and creamy lentils created a delightful blend of flavors and textures that left everyone craving for more.
shauna
Hi how much water do i cook the daal in?
Nausheen
very good recipe just in love .... thanks you so much 🥰
Fatima
Thank you so much, Nausheen!
Rosy
So so so good!
Zahra
Lol loved reading this, so funny and relatable!
Definitely need to try this! I always make your chicken saalan, fool proof and always a winner!
Fatima
Thank you so much! ❤️
Toby
I discovered your website by chance after googling some question which I now forget. This is where I learned about bhoon. I had always fried the onions and spices and then ingredients [veggies, beef or chicken pieces on occasion] and then added tomatoes and liquid -- I had never simmered things and then cooked down to where the liquid was gone and the remains were basically frying. I did the frying first, not last. I plan to use your method next time because intuition tells me it will be superior to what I was doing when I make a vegetable curry [mostly I make vegetable curries and dals]. In reading the Dal Gosht directions today I am wondering if the first part of simmering can be done in an Instant Pot [not with the lentils added] to speed up that part of the process, then the lid removed and the saute function used while stirring to remove the liquid and then the cooked lentils and liquid added.
Fatima
The bhoon can be done in the beginning or in the end - it's just that some ingredients (eg lamb) tolerate it better at the end than, say, potatoes or chicken, which can get mashed or flake if they are stirred too vigorously at the end. Red meats and minced meats are perfect candidates for a bhoon at the end!
And regarding the IP, yes absolutely you can simmer the meat mixture in there. Good idea!