Urad dal in pressure cooker

Dee!
I cant really read your post. It runs over into the next column. I did
go to the URL you have given. First of all Urad is Black matpe and not
what we normally call black beans. It is very close in characterstics
with Negron beans from Mexico, and somewhat like Michigan Black Turtle
beans. From my expeience, it would take 20 minutes to fully cook whole
Urad which was not pre-soaked. Older beans take longer to cook. Most of
the Urad imported from India and Africa is old. So I may adjust the
next bath to about 25 minutes. After the beans have been cooked, I
remove the cooker and put it under the water tap to let the pressure
cease. In Indian cooking, the beans have to be tempered (Bhagaar) after
they are cooked with sauteed onions, garlic, spices and heavy cream.
After the beans are tempered, I leave them to simmer till I like the
tenederness, may be about 10 minutes. They always thicken overnight and
taste better.
Dal normally refers to split beans. Many places on the internet tell
you to use Pressure cooker to even for split beans. I advise against
it, as the boil overs can occur blocking the steam valve and creating a
mess specially if the split bean also happens to be decorticated.
Even if I don't use pressure cooker, I rarerly pre-soak over night to
make soups. You can bring them to a boil and let them rest for abot one
hour, that would be same as pre-soaking them over night. I hope I was
able to shed some light.
Yogi
www.IndiaCurry.com

"Yogi Gupta" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee!
I cant really read your post. It runs over into the next column. I did
go to the URL you have given. First of all Urad is Black matpe and not
what we normally call black beans. It is very close in characterstics
with Negron beans from Mexico, and somewhat like Michigan Black Turtle
beans. From my expeience, it would take 20 minutes to fully cook whole
Urad which was not pre-soaked. Older beans take longer to cook. Most of
the Urad imported from India and Africa is old. So I may adjust the
next bath to about 25 minutes. After the beans have been cooked, I
remove the cooker and put it under the water tap to let the pressure
cease. In Indian cooking, the beans have to be tempered (Bhagaar) after
they are cooked with sauteed onions, garlic, spices and heavy cream.
After the beans are tempered, I leave them to simmer till I like the
tenederness, may be about 10 minutes. They always thicken overnight and
taste better.
Dal normally refers to split beans. Many places on the internet tell
you to use Pressure cooker to even for split beans. I advise against
it, as the boil overs can occur blocking the steam valve and creating a
mess specially if the split bean also happens to be decorticated.
Even if I don't use pressure cooker, I rarerly pre-soak over night to
make soups. You can bring them to a boil and let them rest for abot one
hour, that would be same as pre-soaking them over night. I hope I was
able to shed some light.
Yogi
www.IndiaCurry.com

Dear Yogi,
Thanks for your advice.
I don't like soaking beans at all, whether it be overnight or the
boiling/resting/1 hour. So after reading your thoughtful reply, I will not
soak them before I put them in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes. After
that I will create the tarka and add it and then probably simmer for
another 10 minutes. Some serve right away, but I like to simmer them for a
few minutes after I add the spices.

I have read that one should always add 1 Tablespoon of oil (to 1 cups of
beans to 4 cups of water) so that the beans will not foam up and mess up
the pressure cooker.
I have cooked urad dal many times, whole, split white, and split black and
white. I just was wanting to try them in a pressure cooker this time for
the whole urad dal. I would not use the pressure cooker for any of the split
dals.
Thanks, Yogi,
Nemaste.
Dee Dee

Dee Randall said:

The recipes I find for pressure cooking whole urad dal just say to 'cook
until done.' Anyone know how long that might be -- from experience.
I guess that I could just pressure cook for 20 minutes, then finish off
the cooking the regular way.

Wow, someone else who wants to cook urad dal in the pressure-cooker.
I thought I was the only one.

I just bought a pressure-cooker, the one with a large and small pot,
because people on this group recommended it. I am _so_ happy with it.
Stews come out great, and all my soups are done in 1/2 hour. Plus,
now I make beans from scratch and they really are better than canned.

I don't presoak beans because Lorna Sass, who wrote "Pressure Perfect,"
says it's not necessary. I have found that book to be right on in
everything I've tried (with the small correction that I add about 5
minutes to all her cooking-times.)

I've had the best results with chopping an onion very fine, sauteeing
it with oil and the ground spices, and then adding the other ingredients
and pressure-cooking. The spices bloom nicely in the oil, and the onion
mostly disappears but creates a nice, thick, gravy-like texture for
the dish. Having said this, though, it doesn't seem necessary to saute
the onion in the following recipe, although it certainly doesn't hurt.
Do whatever is easier.

For tomato paste I use those small six-ounce cans. I measure
tablespoonsful onto a piece of waxed paper, freeze, and then put them
in plastic zip-lock bags. This way I have measured amounts for adding
to recipes.

I used to get those packaged Indian dishes called Dal Makhani. These are
made with urad dal. I came up with my own version of it which I'm very
happy with. It's not quite the same -- some of the brands use cream,
which I've omitted, but it's fairly similar to other brands.

Dal Makhani
===========

1 Tbsp. oil (for sauteeing, but also all pressure-cooked beans
need oil to prevent clogging the valve)
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. garam masala (I like Neera's brand in the supermarket)
1/8 tsp. toasted fenugreek, ground
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. paprika, or a smaller amount of hot chili powder to your liking

3/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unhulled black urad dal (check for stones)
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated or minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely minced
2 3/4 cup water

1 Tbsp. wine vinegar

1: Briefly bloom the ground spices in the oil. If you want to add the
onion in this step you can, but it's not necessary.

2: Add the second group. Pressure cook for 25 minutes, then let the
pressure release naturally. This can take 15 to 20 minutes more.

3: Add the vinegar when done. (I've read that adding an acid to beans
while they're cooking prevents them from getting tender.)

Sandy

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

The recipes I find for pressure cooking whole urad dal just say to 'cook
until done.' Anyone know how long that might be -- from experience.
I guess that I could just pressure cook for 20 minutes, then finish off
the cooking the regular way.

Wow, someone else who wants to cook urad dal in the pressure-cooker.
I thought I was the only one.

I just bought a pressure-cooker, the one with a large and small pot,
because people on this group recommended it. I am _so_ happy with it.
Stews come out great, and all my soups are done in 1/2 hour. Plus,
now I make beans from scratch and they really are better than canned.

I don't presoak beans because Lorna Sass, who wrote "Pressure Perfect,"
says it's not necessary. I have found that book to be right on in
everything I've tried (with the small correction that I add about 5
minutes to all her cooking-times.)

I've had the best results with chopping an onion very fine, sauteeing
it with oil and the ground spices, and then adding the other ingredients
and pressure-cooking. The spices bloom nicely in the oil, and the onion
mostly disappears but creates a nice, thick, gravy-like texture for
the dish. Having said this, though, it doesn't seem necessary to saute
the onion in the following recipe, although it certainly doesn't hurt.
Do whatever is easier.

For tomato paste I use those small six-ounce cans. I measure
tablespoonsful onto a piece of waxed paper, freeze, and then put them
in plastic zip-lock bags. This way I have measured amounts for adding
to recipes.

I used to get those packaged Indian dishes called Dal Makhani. These are
made with urad dal. I came up with my own version of it which I'm very
happy with. It's not quite the same -- some of the brands use cream,
which I've omitted, but it's fairly similar to other brands.

Dal Makhani
===========

1 Tbsp. oil (for sauteeing, but also all pressure-cooked beans
need oil to prevent clogging the valve)
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. garam masala (I like Neera's brand in the supermarket)
1/8 tsp. toasted fenugreek, ground
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. paprika, or a smaller amount of hot chili powder to your liking

3/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unhulled black urad dal (check for stones)
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated or minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely minced
2 3/4 cup water

1 Tbsp. wine vinegar

1: Briefly bloom the ground spices in the oil. If you want to add the
onion in this step you can, but it's not necessary.

2: Add the second group. Pressure cook for 25 minutes, then let the
pressure release naturally. This can take 15 to 20 minutes more.

3: Add the vinegar when done. (I've read that adding an acid to beans
while they're cooking prevents them from getting tender.)

Sandy

Sandy, you're a jewel. Thanks for the time you took to type this out and
send it to me. I'll be making it tomorrow (all ingredients on hand). I'll
let you know how it went.
Yipee!!
Dee Dee

Dee Randall said:

The recipes I find for pressure cooking whole urad dal just say to 'cook
until done.'
Anyone know how long that might be -- from experience. I guess that I could
just pressure cook for 20 minutes, then finish off the cooking the regular
way.

Unfortunately, it depends on your cooker. Mine takes a little longer
than the charts say.

Quoted message said:

Also, does anyone have any comments about soaking or not soaking when it
comes to pressure cooking? The only reason I want to pressure cook is to
eliminate the over-night or day presoak.

No need to soak. My beans come out fine when I don't.

serene

Dee!
The reason to add oil when cooking beans is to break the surface
tension to minimize boil-over. There is never a boil over with whole
beans. Boil over only occur with split beans, specially deocrticated
beans.
I don't pre-soak. I only add some salt before cooking in pressure
cooker.
I come from pujab region so my recipe for Whole Black Matpe Tarka is
very different. Its not a Tarka in strict sense. For Black matpe the
essentaials are fresh ginger, fresh garlic, chopped onions. I just
saute whole bunch of finely chopped a onions. Add minced garlic, and
goodly amount of coarsly chopped ginger, chopped Serrano, saute this
about two minutes. Add a chopped plum tomato. Now add the pressure
cooked Urad. The only spices added are salt, cayenne pepper and amchoor
(dry sour mango powder). Let it simmer.. Near the end, stir in whipping
cream.. Serve with a gob of sour cream. There is no traditional curry
stuff such as Turmeric, Cumin, corriander, fenugreek.. Its also called
'Ma ki Dal' or 'kali dal'.

"Yogi Gupta" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee!
The reason to add oil when cooking beans is to break the surface
tension to minimize boil-over. There is never a boil over with whole
beans. Boil over only occur with split beans, specially deocrticated
beans.
I don't pre-soak. I only add some salt before cooking in pressure
cooker.
I come from pujab region so my recipe for Whole Black Matpe Tarka is
very different. Its not a Tarka in strict sense. For Black matpe the
essentaials are fresh ginger, fresh garlic, chopped onions. I just
saute whole bunch of finely chopped a onions. Add minced garlic, and
goodly amount of coarsly chopped ginger, chopped Serrano, saute this
about two minutes. Add a chopped plum tomato. Now add the pressure
cooked Urad. The only spices added are salt, cayenne pepper and amchoor
(dry sour mango powder). Let it simmer.. Near the end, stir in whipping
cream.. Serve with a gob of sour cream. There is no traditional curry
stuff such as Turmeric, Cumin, corriander, fenugreek.. Its also called
'Ma ki Dal' or 'kali dal'.

Very interesting about the oil and whole beans. You say,

Quoted message said:

There is never a boil over with whole
beans. Boil over only occur with split beans

I never realized that there is no foam/boil over with whole beans. I had
thought there was boil-over & foam with all whole beans. Hmmm.

Since you are from the region of Punjab, I will mention to you that the last
time I bought a Garam Masala from Penzey's (spice house in U.S. - are you
living in the U.S.?)
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysgarammasala.html
they had only one pre-made Garam Masala and it was Punjabi. It was
absolutely so different from any other Garam Masala that I hesitate to use
it any longer. I'm wondering if it is close to a garam masala that you
would create spice-by-spice.

"Garam Masala salt free
The formula for this blend was brought into the store by a Punjabi man who
had recently moved to the U.S. It was his mother's recipe and in exchange
for grinding and blending the whole spices for him, he gave it to us. His
mother was proud to hear that her blend had become a hit in America. Garam
masala is an all-purpose blend called for in many Indian dishes. Very good
on fish, and traditional on cauliflower. Also nice on lamb, pork, poultry
and potatoes. Hand-mixed from: Moroccan coriander, Tellicherry black
peppercorns, cardamom, Korintje cassia cinnamon, kalonji, caraway, cloves,
ginger and nutmeg"

It has too much black pepper for my taste; the black pepper is too
predominant.

It's only 9am and I'm hungry thinking about dal already this morning. But
first I have to have my breakfast of oatmeal.
Dee Dee

Dee!
Yes I live in United States. I am 64 years old and came here when I was
20. Long time in these United States... By the way i live in Ohio.
The spice blends are all different as they vary from region to region.
Punjabi Garam masala is simple. There are five spices:
1. Seeds of Black Cardamoms: 2 teaspoon
2. Cinnamon sticks 3" size: 4
Use 'Cassia' bark if available for stronger aroma.
3. Whole cloves: 8 teaspoons
4. Nutmeg: ¼ teaspoon
5. Cumin seeds: 4 teaspoons
Grind these spices very coarse to resemble spent coffee grounds. These
spices and freshly ground black pepper complete the Punjabi Garam
masala. Commercial packers will include black peppers. Non of these
spices is dry roasted. This spice blend is added during last 5 minutes
of cooking with lid closed. This is the same recipe I have on my
website. It is true that in Punjabi cooking, we use lots of ginger. But
I always add fresh ginger. Dried ginger does not even come close to
fresh ginger for my liking. So, in my Punjabi Garam masala, the black
pepper and ginger are missing. I have never seen coriander added to
Punjabi Garam Masala. To, add coriander, it should be dry roasted to be
used as a tradtional punjabi garam masala.

When the whole bean is split, it cracks the surface and also creates
the powdery starch. When you bring it to a boil, these particles create
a hnoey comb like structure causing boil over. The tiny pieces from the
cracked surface also start to get lose contributing to the honeycomb.
You can reduce the powder by washing and rinsing, still you can't
repair the surface cracks. Adding oil, changes the surface tension, so
that bubbles don't form to make honey comb. The oil helps but does not
eliminate the problem entirely. When the whole beans are boiled, there
is no starch powder or cracked surface to form the honeycomb. The whole
beans should still be washed to get rid of dirt.
Enjoy your oatmeal!
Yogi

I wasnt going to say anything about ingredients used by Penzye's,
especially about caraway seeds. But here is an intresting article of
what I call as 'confused spices': Caraway, Fennel, Cumin, Nigella
(Shahi jeera). I found the following article a few years ago on the
internet, copied and saved it but not the source. I did not write the
article. Someone will probably find the source. The bottom line is
don't use Caraway seeds for Cumin seeds in Punjabi Garam Masala.

Cumin is native to the Levant and Upper Egypt. It now grows in most hot
countries, especially India, North Africa, China and the Americas. The
spice is especially associated with Morocco, where it is often smelt in
the abundant street cookery of the medinas. Cumin was known to the
Egyptians five millennia ago; the seeds have been found in the Old
Kingdon Pyramids. The Romans and the Greeks used it medicinally and
cosmetically to induce a pallid complexion. In Indian recipes, cumin is
frequently confused with caraway, which it resembles in appearance
though not in taste, cumin being far more powerful. This is due to a
misunderstanding of the Indian word jeera. The term usually means
cumin, but can occasionally mean caraway, so in doubtful cases, cumin
is generally to be understood. The use of the terms 'black cumin'
for nigella, and 'sweet cumin' for aniseed or fennel, further
confounds this confusion. As a general rule interpret jeera or zeera
(jira, zira) as cumin and kalonji as nigella. When the seeds themselves
are in doubt, cumin is easily distinguished from the other Umbelliferae
by its flavour, and its shape and colour is quite different from
nigella. Classically, cumin symbolised greed; thus the avaricious Roman
Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, came to be known privately as 'Cuminus'

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

The recipes I find for pressure cooking whole urad dal just say to 'cook
until done.' Anyone know how long that might be -- from experience.
I guess that I could just pressure cook for 20 minutes, then finish off
the cooking the regular way.

Wow, someone else who wants to cook urad dal in the pressure-cooker.
I thought I was the only one.

I just bought a pressure-cooker, the one with a large and small pot,
because people on this group recommended it. I am _so_ happy with it.
Stews come out great, and all my soups are done in 1/2 hour. Plus,
now I make beans from scratch and they really are better than canned.

I don't presoak beans because Lorna Sass, who wrote "Pressure Perfect,"
says it's not necessary. I have found that book to be right on in
everything I've tried (with the small correction that I add about 5
minutes to all her cooking-times.)

I've had the best results with chopping an onion very fine, sauteeing
it with oil and the ground spices, and then adding the other ingredients
and pressure-cooking. The spices bloom nicely in the oil, and the onion
mostly disappears but creates a nice, thick, gravy-like texture for
the dish. Having said this, though, it doesn't seem necessary to saute
the onion in the following recipe, although it certainly doesn't hurt.
Do whatever is easier.

For tomato paste I use those small six-ounce cans. I measure
tablespoonsful onto a piece of waxed paper, freeze, and then put them
in plastic zip-lock bags. This way I have measured amounts for adding
to recipes.

I used to get those packaged Indian dishes called Dal Makhani. These are
made with urad dal. I came up with my own version of it which I'm very
happy with. It's not quite the same -- some of the brands use cream,
which I've omitted, but it's fairly similar to other brands.

Dal Makhani
===========

1 Tbsp. oil (for sauteeing, but also all pressure-cooked beans
need oil to prevent clogging the valve)
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. garam masala (I like Neera's brand in the supermarket)
1/8 tsp. toasted fenugreek, ground
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. paprika, or a smaller amount of hot chili powder to your liking

3/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unhulled black urad dal (check for stones)
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated or minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely minced
2 3/4 cup water

1 Tbsp. wine vinegar

1: Briefly bloom the ground spices in the oil. If you want to add the
onion in this step you can, but it's not necessary.

2: Add the second group. Pressure cook for 25 minutes, then let the
pressure release naturally. This can take 15 to 20 minutes more.

3: Add the vinegar when done. (I've read that adding an acid to beans
while they're cooking prevents them from getting tender.)

Sandy

Sandy, I forgot to add the vinegar! Oh well! My opinion only, that we
(Americans) have got used to adding vinegar to beans for many reasons, but
mainly because it cuts the grease used in so many bean dishes. I admit I
like vinegar on any white beans, but not all beans.

But, I made your recipe and I want to thank you for your encouragement and
information. I may have done it, but not as fast and as readily.

As a reuslt of this recipe, I know that I must get together my own recipe of
Garam Masala to have on hand. I just don't like Penzy's Punjabi Garam
Masala. Other prepared brands I've tried have all been satisfactory; I've
bought several over the years. I'll have to find my old stand-by recipe;
and if not, there are many to choose from online. But your recipe might be
more of a Punjab recipe (don't know that) so the Penzy's might have been ok
for it.

I should have used cayenne (perhaps about 1/16 to 1/8 teaspoon) in addition
to or instead of the paprika. I like dals a little spicy. I made basmati
using some saffron. I soaked it 1/2 hr. and drained it 1/2 hr, then put it
in the rice cooker (2 cups). I added a dollop or two of yogurt at the
table. Also had some steamed broccoli and hot tea.

But the biggest success was what I asked about and for -- urad dal made in a
pressure cooker. I have never had urad dal so nice and creamy. I will do
this again and again. Creamy and Dreamy!

Thanks again Sandy.
Dee Dee