Guyanese Style Dhal {Whole30} (Edit recipe)

Guyanese style dhal is made with yellow split peas, curry powder, turmeric and roasted spices. There are many variations in taste, texture and look of dhal. All equally tasty. My mom taught me how to make dhal when I was 11 or 12. Back then we boiled the split peas on the stove top until it was nice and soft, then we would blend everything together using a dhal gutney (a simple wooden utensil used when making dhal). Today, I cook my dhal in the pressure cooker and it ready in 20 mins and sometimes my instant pot.

10 minutes

30 minutes

Difficulty:

Intermediate

Show nutritional information

This is our estimate based on online research.
Calories:	121
Fat:	9 g
Carbohydrates:	8 g
Protein:	3 g
Cholesterol:	0 g
Sodium:	357 mg
Fiber:	3 g
Sugars:	0 g
Calculated per serving.

by Althea Brown

View original recipe

Serves: 6

Ingredients

1 cup Split Peas (dried), (yellow split peas), washed
6 cups Water
1 Tbsp Curry Powder
.5 Onion, small, chopped
.5 tsp Garam Masala, (optional)
1 tsp Salt
4 cloves Garlic, whole (or 1 tsp granulated garlic)
3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
.25 cup Organic [*Spectrum Brand, sustainably sourced] Palm Oil Shortening, melted, or any oil
1 Tbsp Ground Cumin, whole or 1 teaspoon geera

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Process

Note, these instructions are written assuming the standard serving size, since you have modified the number of servings, these steps may need to be modified for best results

In a pressure cooker, add water, split peas, curry powder, onions, whole garlic and salt
Mix together and pressure cook on high heat for 20 minutes or when split peas are completely soft and no longer grainy
Alternatively, if you don't have a pressure cooker you can put all the ingredients in a large stock pot and cook until the split peas is soft. It will take about 40 minutes.

Chunkay the dhal:

Add whole cumin to frying pan on medium heat and toast until dark brown in color, toss often to avoid burning
Then add the oil to the toasted cumin, followed by the cloves of finely chopped garlic and cook until the garlic is almost burnt
Next add the cooked garlic, oil and roasted cumin to the cooked split peas
Give a good stir and your dhal is ready!

Optional Steps

Using a hand blender the dhal until the garlic and roasted cumin seeds are completely mixed into the split peas
If you don't have a hand blender you can blend with a whisk, let the dhal sit for at least 30 mins and then strain with a tight sieve to remove the bits of burnt garlic and whole cumin seeds