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Daal & beansPunjabi recipes

Daal Mash Recipe

دال ماش بنانے کا طریقہ

Lahori dhaba-style daal mash: white urad cooked just tender with each grain separate, then finished with ginger, green chilli and a hot ghee tarka.
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Illustration of Daal Mash

Prep

10 min

Cook

35 min

Marinate / soak

1 hr

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Spice

Medium hot

Daal mash is the pride of Lahore's dhabas: a fairly dry daal where every grain is soft but still whole, glossy with ghee and sharp with fresh ginger. The trick is measured water and gentle heat, so the daal absorbs the water rather than turning to mush. It is rich, so a little goes a long way with hot roti.

Ingredients

4 servings

For 4 servings

Measures

For the tarka (baghaar)

To finish

Method

  1. Wash the daal gently 3 or 4 times, then soak it in plenty of water.

    ⏱ 60 min

  2. Drain well. Put the daal in a heavy pot with exactly 2 cups of water, the salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and ginger-garlic paste. Bring to the boil on medium-high heat and skim off the froth.

    ⏱ 5 min

  3. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook without stirring until the water is absorbed and the grains are soft when pressed but still whole. Shake the pot gently instead of stirring with a spoon, which breaks the grains.

    ⏱ 20 min

  4. If the daal is still firm and the water has gone, sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of hot water, cover and give it a few more minutes. Then leave it on the lowest heat with the lid on (dum) while you make the tarka.

    ⏱ 5 min

  5. Heat the ghee in a small pan on medium heat and fry the onion until golden brown.

    ⏱ 6 min

  6. Add the garlic, cumin and dried red chillies and fry for 30 seconds until the garlic is pale gold.

    ⏱ 1 min

  7. Scatter the ginger matchsticks, green chillies and garam masala over the daal, pour the hot tarka on top and fold through once, lightly. Finish with lemon juice and coriander.

Tips for the best result

  • The ratio is roughly 2 cups of water to 1 cup of soaked mash. Old daal can need a little more, so add hot water a spoonful at a time.
  • Desi ghee is what gives dhaba daal mash its flavour. If you use oil, add a teaspoon of butter at the end.
  • Ginger also helps digestion, which is why it goes in generously with this heavy daal.

Common mistakes

  • Stirring the daal while it cooks. Mash is sticky and breaks easily; stirring turns it into a paste.
  • Adding too much water at the start. You cannot take it out later, and the daal goes soft and soupy.

How to serve

Serve hot with tandoori roti or tawa naan, sliced onion with lemon, and a green chutney.

Storing and reheating

Keeps 2 days in the fridge. Reheat covered on low heat with a sprinkle of water, without stirring too much.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories
320kcal
Protein
14g
Fat
14g
Carbs
36g
Fibre
10.3g
Sodium
600mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 32

Whole dish ≈ Rs 125 · 75% of ingredients by weight priced

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Daal Mash: questions people ask

How do I keep daal mash from getting mushy?

Soak it, use measured water (about double the dry daal), cook covered on low heat and do not stir. Shake the pot instead.

Is daal mash the same as urad daal?

Yes. Mash is the Pakistani name for urad. This recipe uses the washed white split kind; the whole black kind is used for daal makhani.

Serve it with, and similar recipes

All daal recipes

Read this recipe in Urdu: دال ماش بنانے کا طریقہ

https://handi.danixsoft.com/recipes/daal-mash · Handi, DanixSoft