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Main Ingredients-
- Bengal gram pulses
- Pumpkin
- Tomato
- Onion
- Powdered jaggery
- Tamarind
Dalcha is a traditional South Indian recipe having its origin in Hyderabad. Dalcha, essentially a lentil preparation can either be vegetarian using pumpkin as the main constituent, or non-vegetarian using meat. This recipe is cooked regularly in most homes.
Ingredients
The ingredients for preparing ‘dalcha’ include:
- 200 gm Bengal gram pulses
- 250 gm pumpkin, chopped into small pieces*
- 2 green chilies
- 1 chopped tomato
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 1 tsp garlic-ginger paste
- 1 tsp of powdered jaggery
- 1 tsp of shazira
- 1 tsp of tamarind extract
- ½ tsp of turmeric powder
- ½ tsp of red chili powder
- ½ tsp of garam masala powder
- Few curry leaves
- Salt to taste
- Oil for frying
*For preparing non-vegetarian dalcha use 250 gm of meat cut into small pieces.
Preparing Dalcha
- Wash the Bengal gram pulses well and put it to boil;
- Thereafter grind it to a paste to which add tamarind extract and water to make a broth; keep it aside;
- Fry pumpkin pieces and onion in oil in a deep pan;
- Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, garlic-ginger paste and salt; then stir;
- Then add the tomato pieces;
- Pour water and thereafter allow it to boil on medium heat for 10 minutes;
- Pour the lentil broth into the pan, add green chilies, shazira, powdered jaggery and garam masala;
- Boil for about 5 minutes
- Serve ‘dalcha’ hot.
