Dhalitoi, or DDT (dhaaT dhaLitoi) or thick dhal as one of my brothers always liked to call it, is a staple in most Konkani households. "Toi" refers to the liquid or water so DhaLitoi roughly translates to dhal water. Whether at home for an everyday Konkani meal, or for a festival menu, no meal is complete without dhalitoi. Every temple celebration, and every Konkani wedding spread has to have this on its menu. Incidentally, DhaLitoi is also known as the Kuldevata (family diety ) of Konkani cuisine. Such a simple recipe, but dhaLitoi is loved by one and all, and is the "heart and soul food" that most Konkanis crave.
I have several anecdotes on dhalitoi which I will narrate through different posts. One that stands out in my memory today, is this incident from my childhood. I dedicate this post to my parents. I laugh about it today, and I am very thankful to my parents, for not killing my sentiments that day, or my joy of cooking which I feel and carry with me today.
I was probably around 7 or 8 years old at that time. My parents had gone to visit some relatives with some out of town guests. That was pretty common in those days, visiting each other on weekends and many times the visits were unplanned and unannounced!
Anyway, it was late evening, around 7:30 pm and I was getting anxious as they had not returned. We ate dinner around 9pm and I decided that I wanted to help amma, so she could spend less time cooking when they returned and we could eat on time. I wanted dhaLitoi, so decided to start cooking the dhal, so that it would be cooked by the time she returned, and all she had to do was to add the seasoning. I washed the dhal and added water and placed the pot on the stove. To my horror, the foamy lather and water boiled all over the counter and made quite a mess all over. (I wish one of my brothers were home, they always knew how to fix the problem.)
Anyway, to cut a long story short, there were several problems with my "cooking" that day. I used the first yellow dhal that I found on the kitchen shelf, and that happened to be chana dhal, instead of toor dhal. I had also used a pot that was too small for the amount of dhal I had used. My parents came home to see the mess I had created in the kitchen. On the one hand they were glad I tried to help, but on the other, my mom was upset that there could have been a bigger disaster, had I tried to lift the overflowing pan off the gas. She told me, I was never to do that again unless one of them was home. Well, we got no dhaLitoi that night, but instead, amma made chana dhaaLe saaru (rasam). Of course that night, my mom had to make ubbaTi (puran poLi) which was definitely not on the menu, as she could not waste all that cooked chana dhal. Precious memories!!
Here is the authentic DhaLitoi recipe, which can be cooked in the Instant Pot as well.
DhaLitoi
Recipe
Ingredients: • 1 cup toor/tuvar/tori dhal
• Salt to taste
• pinch of hing/asafoetida (optional)
• 2 - 3 medium hot slit Green chillies (more or less to taste) Seasoning:
• 2 - 3 tsps coconut oil + ghee • 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 2 red chillies broken up
• 1 - 2 tsp hing / asafoetida powder (according to your taste) • 2 sprigs curry leaves
Seasoning for the dhaLitoi
Seasoning just poured over the dhal
Steps:
1. Wash the dhal and pressure cook dhal with 3 cups of water, and the hing. (optional)
2. Add the salt to taste, and the slit green chillies and bring to a boil, and dilute with more water
if required. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 10 minutes.
3. Prepare a seasoning - heat the coconut oil + ghee and add the mustard seeds and once they
splutter, add in the broken red chillies,curry leaves and hing and fry on low flame till the red
chillies turn slightly dark.
4. Pour the seasoning over the cooked dhal and cover immediately, and keep covered till ready
to serve.
5. Serve hot. Although ideally served with hot rice, dhalitoi is also eaten with chapathis and idlis.
Instant Pot Instructions:
Soak the dhal for about 15 minutes and drain and keep aside.
Select the Pressure Cook setting at high pressure and make sure the cook time is set to 10 minutes, pour in the 3 cups of water and the soaked and drained lentils, and some salt and stir to combine well. Also add in the slit green chillies.
Secure the lid, set the pressure release to Sealing.
Once the timer has completed and it beeps, allow a Natural Pressure release for 10 minutes and then set the venting switch from sealing to venting to release any additional steam.
While the IP is depressurizing, prepare your seasoning (tadka/paNN). Heat up the 2 tsps of coconut oil + ghee, followed by the mustard seeds. After the seeds splutter, add in the red chillies, curry leaves, and hing, and switch heat to low and mix well. Make sure you don't burn the seasoning.
Open the pot and select the Sauté button and boil the dhal for 2 or 3 minutes to thicken the dhal a bit. (If you prefer a thinner dhal, you may skip this step.)
Pour the seasoning over the dhal and adjust salt to taste and garnish if you wish.
Serve with hot rice.
Variations: These are just some suggestions.
• For a different flavor, you can garnish with chopped cilantro /coriander /kothmir leaves.
• Dill or ginger can be added too.
• Lime or lemon juice can be added too.
• The same recipe can be used for mung/mooga/green gram "DhaLitoi". Instead of toor dhal, mung
dhal is used.
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