Kulath Ki Dal (Gahat Dal) is a Pahadi dish which is quite popular in the regions of Uttarakhand, Himanchal Pradesh and neighbouring areas. The dish is a popular winter cuisine especially in cold climate regions and it is best to serve it with some steamed rice. Traditionally people top it with some Clarified butter aka Ghee for additional flavour. Kulath Ki Dal is known by different names such as Gahat Ki Dal (Gahat Dal) and Kulthi Dal. Since Kulath Dal has medicinal value it finds use in Ayurvedic medicines. Many consider it as good for health.
Kulath Dal aka Horse Gram though is a rich source of vitamins and minerals, it does have some side effects. It contains raffinose oligosaccharides (special type of carbohydrate), which may cause gas and bloating.
Kulath Ki Dal
Kulath Ki Dal is a winter special from Pahadi (hilly) regions of India such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring areas. The dish is an integral part of Garhwali and Kumaoni culture. If you plan to visit these areas it is a must try cuisine coming from these cultural heritage of India.
Few other popular Garhwali and Kumaoni cuisines are – Aloo Ke Gutke, Aloo Tamatar Ki Sabji, Kafuli, Phanu, Chainsoo, Kumaoni Raita, Bhang Ki chutney etc.
The preparation of Kulath Ki Dal is fairly easy and tastes quite good. It goes well with Rice, Chapati and Paratha.
Tips & Tricks – Kulath Dal can easily spoil due to moisture in the air. To protect your raw dal from weevils, you can use small amount of cooking oil and mix raw dal with it. Now, keep it refrigerated. This ensures that the dal remains fresh for few months.
In English, Kulath Ki Dal (Gahat Ki Dal) is known as Horse Gram. Horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum) is a legume native to southern asian region. It is a rich source of Protein, Iron, Vitamin C and Fibre and has medicinal health benefits. Kulath (Gahat) is also considered good for Kidney stones.
Ingredients for Kulath Ki Dal
Here is the list of all ingredients that you need to make Kulath Ki Dal. Most of these ingredients should be easily available in nearby grocery or local supermarket. If you are living outside, many of these spices are now-a-days readily available in major supermarkets.
Spices
Almost all the spices listed for the dish are commonly available. If you are living outside India and struggling to get hold of few exception spices like Anise, Garam Masala and Whole Black Cardamom you may skip a few and replace with usual curry powder. You may also want to check if for any whole spice you can get a crushed or fine powder option then it should work equally. If you use a curry powder the taste may be a little different but this should not stop you from enjoying the dish.
Kulath Dal
Kulath Dal should be available in near-by store or supermarket. If you are buying from a supermarket then you should have a cleaned dal and no need to worry about anything. However if you are buying from a local store you should check if you are getting a clean dal. In some places to meet demands sometimes the sellers sometime mix it with other similar looking dals or it may contain lot of impurities.
Ghee
You can find this ingredient as Clarified butter in most stores. Outside India you can get different brands of Clarified butter. Usually the packaged Clarified butter contains some amount of Vegetable oil to keep it fluent in low temperature. Pure Ghee is more granular and not fluent especially in low temperature. If you can get hold of pure Ghee the flavour and Aroma is just awesome and is best for cooking. In case you are out of luck and do not have Clarified butter, you can use some pure butter instead.
Preparation Steps to make Kulath Ki Dal
Kulath Ki Dal is a nice and tasty dish that is easy to make at home. Since raw Kulath Dal is a bit hard it is better to keep it soaked for sometime. For best results keep dal soaked overnight. Therefore, first take Kulath Dal in a large bowl and wash it properly. Now, soak it in water and keep it soaked overnight (6 – 8 hours).
If you purchased this dal from a local store chances are that it may contain impurities so it is good to clean it properly before cooking.
After keeping dal soaked overnight in water it is ready for cooking. Before cooking we recommend to wash it with some fresh water again. Now put it into a pressure cooker and add 2 cups of water, Black Cardamom, Anise and Bay leaves.
Next, put the pressure cooker on gas and take 3 whistles on high and 3 whistles on low flame. If you do not soak dal overnight you will still make this dal but it would require more whistles. You will also have to add more water so that the dal does not stick or get burnt.
Meanwhile, finely chop Onions, Tomatoes, Green chilies, Ginger, Garlic and Coriander Leaves.
How to make Kulath Ki Dal (Gahat Dal)
To make Kulath Ki Dal, add Vegetable Oil in a deep pan. Now add some Asafoetida, Cumin seeds, Cloves, Whole Black Pepper and whole Red Chilli to it and sauté it for a minute.
Once the Cumin seeds turn brown in colour add chopped onions, green chilies, ginger, garlic and Chopped Coriander leaves to it. While you cook the masala keep stirring it with a spatula so that it does not burn. If the masala burns it will spoil the taste and overall experience.
Let the onions cook for a minute or two before adding Turmeric, Red Chilli powder, Salt, Coriander powder and Garam Masala to it. Keep stirring the paste as you add these ingredients. Add little water in case the paste becomes too dry and starts to stick. Do not add too much water or else the spices will not cook properly.
Next, add tomatoes and Sauté them for couple of minute till tomatoes cook properly.
Now, once the masala gets ready, add Kulath Dal to it. You can use left over water which you used earlier while pressure cooking the dal in preparation steps. Add addition 1/2 cup water to it if required.
Now it is time to add some rice paste (soaked rice grounded in a mixer) to it and stir it properly.
This is where Kulath Dal recipe is slightly different from Kulthi dal recipe. The addition of rice paste gives it additional flavour and makes it thicker.
After adding rice paste set the gas on medium flame and cook it for another 10 – 15 mins. Your Kulath Ki Dal is now ready so turn off the flame.
You are now ready to serve the dish.
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Serving Ideas for Kulath Ki Dal (Gahat Dal)
It is best to serve Kulath Ki Dal with Rice. Usually Basmati Rice is the preferred choice especially during special occasion. However, the dish goes quite well with Chapati and plain paratha. Traditionally people top up the dish with some Clarified butter (Ghee) while serving it. You can also add some freshly chopped Coriander on top for great aroma and garnish.
However if you are health conscious or planning for weight loss, you may want to avoid adding more calories from Ghee.
Health Benefits of Kulath Dal (Horse Gram)
Kulath Dal (Gahat dal) is a good source of Protein, Iron, Vitamin C and fibre. Proten and fibre and both known to be good for weight loss. Therefore, many health professionals recommend Kulath dal for weight loss. Also it may improve heart health. Vitamin C is also helpful in improving your immune system. Therefore including Kulath dal (Horse Gram) in your diet is a good step towards a healthy lifestyle.
Due to its unique flavour there are many dishes such as soups and dals made from Kulath Dal (Horse Gram) . Kulath Ki Dal is one such dish for which you can refer our recipe card. We recommend not to add additional Ghee if you are planning to reap its health benefits.
Since Kulath Dal is warm in nature it is mostly popular during winters especially in cold climate regions. This dish is a speciality cuisine from the regions of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring regions.
Due to many health benefits it finds its use in Ayurvedic medicines. Many recommend Kulath Dal (Gahat Dal) for Kidney stones.
Chef Recommendations for Kulath Ki Dal
Few considerations while cooking and serving –
- We recommend serving Kulath Ki Dal (Kulthi Dal or Kullat Dal) with Steamed Basmati Rice.
- While cooking you can also use clarified butter in place of Vegetable oil. This will add a different flavour to Kulath Ki Dal.
- For awesome flavour, serve dal with additional clarified butter (Ghee) on top. We don’t recommend additional Ghee if you are planning to reap health benefits offered by this dish.
- Traditionally people dice ginger in large pieces instead of finely chopping them. This is because Ginger is a key ingredient for this dish. For authentic flavour and texture use diced ginger and clarified butter (Ghee).
- If you buy Kulath Dal from local store, you may have to watch out for impurities and may have to clean it before cooking.
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Users Ask
Kulath Dal is known by different names such as Gahat Ki Dal, Kulthi Dal, Kullat Dal in different regions. Kulath dal (Gahat Dal) is known as Horse Gram in English.
Kulath Dal is also known as Horse Gram in English. It is mostly prepared in winter season as it is warm in nature.
Kulath Dal is a good source of Protein, Iron, Vitamin C and fibre. Proten and fibre and both known to be good for weight loss. Therefore Kulath dal is recommended for weight loss. Vitamin C is also helpful in improving your immune system.
Since Kulath Dal is warm in nature it is mostly prepared during winters. This dish is a speciality cuisine from the regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
It is considered to have many health benefits and finds use in Ayurvedic medicines. Kulath Dal (Gahat Dal) is also known to be recommended for Kidney stones.
Kulath Dal aka Horse Gram though is a rich source of vitamins and minerals, it does have some side effects. It contains raffinose oligosaccharides (special type of carbohydrate), which may cause gas and bloating.
The side effect is more prominent if you consume it in large quantities. It also contains phytic acid which inhibits absorption of certain minerals. Therefore it is recommended to soak it well before cooking as it tends to improve nutrition absorption.
Since Kulath Dal (Horse gram) is warm in nature hence it may cause stomach burn especially during summers or if consumed in large quantity.
Discover More
And that is not all folks! Shall we take this opportunity to invite you to discover more tasty and yummy recipes in our food wonderland.
- Check more such currys in our Currys section.
- Why not try few more tasty dishes. Check these to give them a try –
Kulath Dal Recipe
Ingredients
Main Ingredients for Kulath Ki Dal
- 50 g Kulath Dal Horse Gram, Kulthi Dal
- 1 Medium Onion Pyaz
- 2 Medium Tomato Tamatar
- 2 cloves Garlic Lahsun
- 1 inch Ginger Adrak
- 10 g Green Chillies Hari Mirch
- 1 tsp Salt As per taste (Namak)
- 15 g Rice paste soaked rice grounded in mixer
- ½ tsp Cumin Seeds Jeera
- Pinch Asafoetida Hing
- 2 Bay leaves Tej Patta
- 1 Black Cardamom Badi Ilaichi
- 4 Whole Black Pepper Khadi Kali Mirch
- 2 Cloves Loung
- 1 Aniseed Anise
- 2 whole Red Chillies Khadi Lal Mirch
- ½ tsp Red Chillies powder Lal Mirch powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric Powder Haldi
- ½ tsp Coriander Powder Dhaniya powder
- ½ tsp Garam Masala
- 1½ tbsp Vegetable Oil To cook
Garnishing
- Few Coriander leaves for garnishing
Instructions
Preparation Steps to make Kulath Ki Dal
- Take Kulath Dal in a large bowl and wash it properly. Now, soak it in water overnight (6 – 8 hours).50 g Kulath Dal
- After keeping dal soaked overnight in water, wash it again before you put it into a pressure cooker. Now add 2 cups of water, Black Cardamom, Anise and Bay leaves.50 g Kulath Dal, 2 Bay leaves, 1 Black Cardamom, 1 Aniseed
- Now put the pressure cooker on gas. and take 3 whistles on high and 3 whistles on low flame.
- Meanwhile, finely chop Onions, Tomatoes, Green chilies, Ginger, Garlic and Coriander Leaves.1 Medium Onion, 2 Medium Tomato, 2 cloves Garlic, 1 inch Ginger, 10 g Green Chillies, Few Coriander leaves
How to make Kulath Ki Dal
- Add Vegetable Oil in a deep pan and add some Asafoetida, Cumin seeds, Cloves, Whole Black Pepper and whole Red Chilli to it and sauté it for a minute½ tsp Cumin Seeds, Pinch Asafoetida, 2 Cloves, 2 whole Red Chillies, 1½ tbsp Vegetable Oil, 4 Whole Black Pepper
- Once the Cumin seeds turn brown add chopped onions, green chilies, ginger, garlic and Chopped Coriander Leaves.1 Medium Onion, 2 cloves Garlic, 1 inch Ginger, 10 g Green Chillies, Few Coriander leaves
- Now you need to keep stirring the mixture using a spatula so that it does not burn.
- Cook for a minute or two and now add Turmeric, Red Chilli powder, Salt, Coriander powder and Garam Masala. Keep stirring the paste as you add these ingredients. Add little water in case the paste becomes too dry and starts to stick. Don’t add too much water or else the spices will not cook properly.1 tsp Salt, ½ tsp Turmeric Powder, ½ tsp Coriander Powder, ½ tsp Garam Masala, ½ tsp Red Chillies powder
- Now add chopped tomatoes and Sauté it for couple of minute till tomato gets cooked properly.2 Medium Tomato
- Once the masala gets ready, add Kulath Ki Dal to it. You can use left over water which you used earlier while pressure cooking the dal in preparation steps. Add addition 1/2 cup water to it if required.50 g Kulath Dal
- Now add rice paste (soaked rice grounded in a mixer) to it and stir it properly15 g Rice paste
- Set the gas on medium flame and cook for another 10 – 15 mins and your Kulath Ki Dal is ready.
- Serve the dish with a teaspoon of Clarified butter and some freshly chopped Coriander leaves on top.
Notes
- We recommend serving Kulath Ki Dal (Kulthi Dal or Kullat Dal) with Steamed Basmati Rice.
- While cooking you can also use clarified butter in place of Vegetable oil. This will add a different flavour to Kulath Ki Dal.
- For awesome flavour, serve dal with additional clarified butter (Ghee) on top.
- Traditionally ginger is diced in large pieces instead being finely chopped. For authentic flavour and texture use diced ginger and clarified butter (Ghee).
- If you buy Kulath Dal from local store, you may have to watch out for impurities and may have to clean it before cooking.
