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    Home » Recipes » Dals

    Published: May 25, 2018 · Modified: Sep 29, 2020 by Usha Rao

    Panchmel Dal - Flavorful Five Lentils Dal

    Jump to Recipe

    Panchmel dal is prepared with five lentils and is a great accompaniment for Indian flatbreads.

    Bowl of panchmel dal
    served with a roti on the side

    Dazzling Dals

    Theme of the week is dazzling dals. The first recipe I posted yesterday is Instant Pot dal tadka which is prepared with toor dal and the second recipe is panchmel dal.

    What is Panchmel Dal?

    Dazzling panchmel dal is made with five lentils. Quantity and type of lentils varies from household to household. Cooked lentils are seasoned and, tempered with cumin and asafoetida. Authentic version is a no onion garlic recipe. However, recent versions have adapted onion garlic and tomato as well.

    This is a traditional Rajasthani dish. Rajasthan is an arid state with scarce fresh vegetables and hence the cuisine uses less fresh ingredients.

    Bowl of pancharatan dal with roti
    creamy dal, a filling meal

    Lentils for Pancharatna dal

    This is a 5 lentils dal or 5 lentils Indian stew. Lentils used are toor dal, whole moong, chana dal, urad dal with/without skin, masoor dal and moong dal. Of the six lentils mentioned above, one can pick masoor dal or moong dal as the fifth lentil. Regardless of the types used, the common dals are toor dal, chana dal, whole moong and urad dal. The fifth dal is subjective. I used split moong dal and is a good substitute for masoor dal.

    There are many versions and some versions use equal quantities of all five lentils. Today’s recipe has equal parts of toor, chana and moong Dal, and ½ part each of whole moong and urad dal. I intentionally used less urad dal fearing a sticky panchmel dal as urad dal is sticky.

    How to cook

    There are multiple ways to cook this dal. The basic step is cooking lentils until soft. This is done either in an Instant Pot, stovetop pressure cooker or directly on stovetop in a saucepan. Once the dal is cooked, it is seasoned and tempered using ghee or combination of ghee and oil.

    How to cook in Instant Pot

    Following settings tested in mini Instant Pot but should work in all models and sizes.
    Beans Setting - In this setting cook time is 30 minutes and natural pressure release (NPR). Lentils cook very soft and do not require too much of mashing.
    Manual Setting - 10 minutes on manual and natural pressure release.
    Lentils come out soft and chana dal is soft but still hold's it’s shape.
    Both these setting work and depending on individual preference, use the settings accordingly. For really soft dal, 12-14 minutes manual is probably the ideal setting in manual mode.

    Plate of dal with roti and cauliflower
    A hearty meal

    Panchmel Dal Recipe

    📖 Recipe

    Panchmel Dal

    Panchmel dal is Indian dal prepared with five varieties of lentils or dals.
    4.91 from 11 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: Indian, North Indian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes minutes
    Servings: 3
    Calories:
    Author: Usha Rao

    Ingredients

    • 1 tbsp Toor Dal
    • 1 tablespoon Chana Dal
    • 1 tablespoon Moong Dal
    • ½ tablespoon Whole Moong
    • ½ tablespoon Urad Dal
    • 1 tsp Oil

    Tempering

    • 2-3 teaspoon Oil or Ghee for vegan use oil or vegan butter
    • 3 small Green Chilies cut into 3 pieces each
    • ¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
    • 2 Cloves
    • 2 Cardamons
    • ⅛ teaspoon Asafoetida
    • ½ tsp Coriander Powder
    • ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
    • ¼ - ½ teaspoon Amchur Powder
    • ¾ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 cup Water
    • Few drops Lime Juice as required

    Instructions

    Cook Dals

    • Wash dals and cook in instant with ½ - ¾ cup water and ½ teaspoon of oil.  
    • Set settings to Manual/Pressure Cook, 10 minutes on high pressure and natural pressure release.  
    • Open the lid, add salt, water and give a good stir.
    • Change IP settings to saute mode and bring dal to boil.

    Tempering

    • Meantime, in a frying pan heat ghee+oil for tempering.
    • Add cumin, cardamom, cloves and let the seeds sizzle.
    • Throw in green chilies and let the chilies change color.
    • Next go in the spices and powders. 
    • Turn off the flame.

    Final Touch to Dal

    • Immediately pour tempering in boil dal, mix and cover the dal. 
    • Cancel the saute mode and let the dal sit for few minutes.
    • Mind you instant pot plate is still hot and dal will continue to simmer.
    • After 3 - 5 minutes, remove dal from the inner pot from IP. Make sure dal has reached the right consistency and if kept too long in IP, dal will thicken as the plate is still hot.
    • Add lime juice now or squeeze some just before serving.
    • Serve it with some dal or rice.

    Notes

    • This recipe uses equal parts of chana dal, toor dal, moong dal and, ½ part each of whole moong and urad dal.
    • For a variation make it with onion, ginger, garlic and tomatoes.
    • Use oil or vegan butter for a vegan recipe.
    Tried this recipe?Share a photo! Mention @usha_myspicykitchen or tag #Usha_MySpicyKitchen!

    Like the recipe, Pin It.

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    Reader Interactions

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    1. Chef Mireille says

      June 10, 2018 at 4:31 pm

      5 stars
      I made this several years ago on a dal theme as well Seeing your gorgeous photos is making me think this is another post I need to redo soon 🙂

      Reply
    2. themadscientistskitchen says

      June 09, 2018 at 1:45 am

      5 stars
      Panchmel daal is awesome tasting daal. Not made it for ages now n your pics are tempting me.

      Reply
    3. sapana says

      June 08, 2018 at 5:45 pm

      5 stars
      Even I love Panchmel dal with some plain rotis, this even goes perfect with some steaming hot plain rice.

      Reply
    4. farah says

      June 01, 2018 at 11:42 am

      lovely captivating photos and great recipe !

      Reply
    5. Pavani says

      May 31, 2018 at 1:12 pm

      5 stars
      That is such a flavorful and delicious dal - looks so creamy. Sounds very easy to make too. I have to try this one out some time soon.

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        June 03, 2018 at 12:10 am

        I was surprised how good it tasted. Do try it Pavani, you will love it.

        Reply
    6. MySpicyKitchen says

      May 30, 2018 at 3:34 am

      Thank you ladies for all your encouraging and wonderful comments.

      Reply
    7. Sowmya says

      May 29, 2018 at 11:23 pm

      5 stars
      Love the combination of various lentils...your pics are breathtaking! Kudos to you

      Reply
    8. harini says

      May 29, 2018 at 9:50 pm

      5 stars
      Love the simple dal with the mixed flavors of all the dals. Clicks are as awesome as ever.

      Reply
    9. Mayuri Patel says

      May 29, 2018 at 2:21 pm

      4 stars
      I love panchmel dal. It just tastes so different from the other dals. Dunking hot rotis into a delicious dal is comfort food.

      Reply
    10. Sandhiya ThirumalaiKumar says

      May 29, 2018 at 11:02 am

      5 stars
      Panchmel dal sounds so healthy and delicious. Perfect recipe for this series. It's in my todo list for very long time, hope i will make them soon 🙂

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        May 30, 2018 at 3:33 am

        Do try it Sandhiya. I was hesitant to mix all the dals but was surprised ho flavorful it was.

        Reply
    11. Srivalli says

      May 29, 2018 at 7:13 am

      Yet another fantastic one with very beautiful clicks. I love that plate having the dal, roti and some fritters along..what a yummy meal Usha.

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        May 30, 2018 at 3:32 am

        That was an unplanned photo. I was eating in that plate and it looked very photogenic. Washed my hands, grabbed the camera and clicked the picture. Thanks.

        Reply
    12. MySpicyKitchen says

      May 29, 2018 at 6:59 am

      Thank you ladies for your lovely comments.

      Reply
    13. Renu says

      May 28, 2018 at 6:32 am

      5 stars
      Love this panchmel dal with rice or roti...pictures are making me drool

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        May 29, 2018 at 6:27 am

        Thanks Renu

        Reply
    14. Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth says

      May 28, 2018 at 2:57 am

      5 stars
      I can't stop drooling at that bowl of dal... so delicious! Like you said, totally depends upon the ratio of dals used... whichever way, it is going to be lipsmacking...

      Reply
    15. Priya Suresh says

      May 27, 2018 at 11:49 am

      Just love panchmel dal with phulkas, and you plating is very catchy. Now feel like making some dal for my dinner. Love the way you cooked this dal through Instant pot.

      Reply
    16. Vaishali Sabnani says

      May 27, 2018 at 12:46 am

      This is one daal that I have not made in a while and you are so right every house has their own version . My chef always added onions and garlic but actually no onion no garlic makes it quite authentic ,typical Rajasthani ! Delicious daal .

      Reply
      • MySpicyKitchen says

        May 29, 2018 at 6:58 am

        Oh, I was tempted to use onion tomato but held back. If your chef uses it, then it must be a common version nowadays. Will try it next time.

        Reply
    17. Varada says

      May 26, 2018 at 10:40 pm

      Mixed dal recipes have such a lovely flavor! Your version looks really good. I love the ease of cooking in the Instant pot. Picture are too good.

      Reply
    18. Gayathri Kumar says

      May 26, 2018 at 1:27 am

      5 stars
      Sounds like an easy version of dal. The combination of dals is what makes the recipe unique. Love your photos Usha.

      Reply

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    Hi, I am Usha! Welcome to my space. I am the content creator and photographer here. I love cooking and all the recipes on the site are tried and tested in my kitchen.

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