Bengali Moong Dal with Vegetables | Sobji die Bhaja Muger Dal

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Moong Dal with Vegetables is a Bengali winter delicacy cooked with roasted moong dal and various winter vegetables. In Bengali, this yellow lentil with vegetables is known as sobji die bhaja muger dal. It's a pure comfort food, a wholesome dish packed with protein and the goodness of seasonal vegetables.

Dal is part of our everyday Indian cooking. It is prepared in almost every Indian household. There are many different types of lentils available such as, masoor (red lentil), moong dal (petite yellow lentil), green gram dal, pigeon pea lentil (Toor dal), etc. You will find numerous dal recipes using each of them.

Dal is a great source of vegetarian protein that can be served with rice or roti. I was going through my blog's recipe index and realized that I have not yet added our everyday dal recipes. Here I am going to share a no onion no garlic moong dal recipe which you can enjoy even during festivals.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How to make Bengali Style Moong Dal with Vegetables
• Substitutions
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage
• Top tip
• More Bengali Recipes
• Bengali Moong Dal with Vegetables

Ingredients

Moong Dal (Petite Yellow Lentil): The key ingredient of this dish. If possible, use the finest quality sona moong dal to enhance the flavor of the dish.

Vegetables: As this is a winter dal (shitkaler sobji die moong dal), I always use seasonal vegetables such as cauliflower, carrots, beans, and green peas that are available during the winter.

Whole Spices: Bay leaf, cumin seeds

Spice Powders: Turmeric Powder, salt, sugar,

Others: Bengali recipes are cooked in mustard oil, so I have used the same. Ginger paste or grated ginger, ghee (clarified butter), etc.

How to make Bengali Style Moong Dal with Vegetables

Boiling Dal

In a pan, dry roast moong dal for a few minutes. Stir constantly until the yellow lentil turns light brown. At this point dal turns aromatic.
Remove from the heat and set aside for a few minutes to cool. After that, wash the dry roasted dal and transfer it to the pressure cooker. You can also boil the dal in a pot with lid but might take longer time than pressure cooker.

In Bengal, musur (red lentil) and moong dal are cooked in a pan or pot rather than a pressure cooker, which takes less time. It could also be due to the quality of the dal or the water. Cooking in a pan has the benefit of preventing dal from becoming mushy and retaining the shape and texture of each grain.

Cook for 2-3 whistles, or until done, in a pressure cooker with the water, salt, and turmeric powder. The number of whistles is determined by the quality or quantity of the lentil. Allow the pressure to release.

Cooking Dal with Vegetables

Meanwhile, in a wok, heat the oil and fry the blanched cauliflower florets with a little salt and turmeric. Remove from the wok and set aside when finished.

Next, add the chopped coconut pieces and fry them with salt before setting aside. After that, add the beans and carrot and sauté for a few minutes. After that, add the peas and cook for a few minutes more before setting aside.

Now add the remaining oil to the wok, along with the cumin seeds and dry red chilli. Then, quickly stir in the grated ginger and the boiled dal. Mix in all of the fried.

At this point, if necessary, add water and allow it to boil for a few minutes. Season with salt and sugar as per taste.

Finally, when the dal has reached the desired consistency, turn off the heat. Top with ghee.

Many people add garam masala, but I prefer the flavor of dal and ghee without garam masala. When I cook macher matha die muger dal (dal with fish head) I definitely add some whole spices (garam masala) into it.

Substitutions

If you're a vegan, omit the ghee (clarified butter) and enjoy this moong dal with vegetables.

Serving Suggestions

We enjoy serving Bengali-style bhaja moong dal with vegetables over steaming hot plain rice. You can also serve this with misti pulao or any other varieties of pulao. I also prefer to have this dal with roti and paratha.

Storage

You can store sabji die muger dal for up to 2-3 days in an airtight container. You can reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

I occasionally dry roast the dal, cook it, let it cool, and then keep it in the fridge for up to 7 days. And when I need to prepare this dal, I add the cooked dal after frying the vegetables. This saves a tonne of time.

More Bengali Recipes

Bengali Style Chanar Dalna

Koraishutir Kochuri

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