Indian households prefer keeping dal in their menu, be it with roti or rice. Dal or Lentils, which are simple to cook, have several health benefits as well. Nutrients including protein, fibre, magnesium, calcium, vitamin B and folates are loaded in all kinds of lentils. As India has a varied practice of making certain food items, cooking simple lentils can also be different from one another. While people from Gujarat add sugar while making dal, people in Andhra Pradesh make it tangy and spicy. Apart from that, in most areas across Rajasthan, the dal is eaten wholly or rather stewed with a strong seasoning of red chilies. Given the various ways of cooking the dal, one thing that affects them the most is adding water to it. Did you know why cold water is never added to dal while cooking it? If not, let us explain.
As per nutritionist Kavita Devgan’s book titled 500 Recipes, pulses/ lentils/ dal is a good source of protein for vegetarians. They do not contain fat and are also low in calories. In addition to that, pulses are rich in minerals like antioxidants, potassium, calcium and zinc.
When we cook pulses, there can be such a situation when water seems less in the utensil. In such a situation, many of us would think of just adding water (cold or room temperature) to it. Doing so can spoil the taste of it. The reason behind this is that the temperature of the pulses cooking on the gas is higher, while the water added later will be lower the same. This leads to slow down the cooking process which will take more time for the pulses. It also leaves the pulses to remain partly cooked and partly raw as per the temperature.
When the pulses are being cooked at a certain pace, they allow all the protein and fibres to deepen in its taste. Following the addition of cold water, the cooking pace interrupts and more foam is formed which makes the taste mild as well.
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