We have arrived at the 4th shape group in Sindhi Script with the 18th letter and it is د or ‘D~’ as in Daawat or as in Dehradun, in Roman Sindhi while द in Devanagari. To Check a recap for AlifBe series kindly click here !
The Sindhi dish starting with د is Dal Dimma or Dal mung!
Folks from Sindhi populated areas might know how common it is for people to flock around the carts selling Dal pakwan, early mornings. Though traditionally Sindhi Pakwan is served with Chana dal, it is very common to find carts where you will get an option of Dal Dimma or Dal mung as many call it. Dal mung is a mix of Whole mung, chana dal and Yellow mung dal, slow cooked separately and mixed while serving.
Those who hail from Ulhasnagar would know the popular Doli Naashta waala, well known for traditional Sindhi street foods like Dal pakwan, Dal sandwich, Samose, Gulabjamun etc and Dal mung is one of its best seller. Those living around camp 4 of Ulhasnagar would vouch for Dal mung at Shankar Uncle’s New Delhi Nashta House, near Canara Bank.
Interestingly around the same place (Canara bank) and previous to that, near Jungle hotel, an old frail, tall Uncle ji (I think his name was Hari or Hiru) used to sell Dal Dimma on fresh leaves (Can’t recollect if those were Paan or some other leaves). Barely 3 tsp of mung and 2 tsp of dal, garnished with spice powder and chutney @ 25 paise, in late seventies and early eighties would be enough to satiate your morning hunger as it was often had with Pao or roti or even with home made Koki. Anyone remember that Uncle ji?
The plain mung dal used to be so dense that you need to actually scoop it with a roti/bread. Slow cooked on charcoal sigri for hours, with only salt and turmeric, garnished with black pepper powder, the piping hot buttery soft dal used to be a delight to relish. As a kid studying in Bal Mandir ( Preschool of yore), I was privileged enough to enjoy hot dal from that Uncle’s cart with mom made Koki courtesy the lady who would bring tiffins for the kids from their respective homes during lunch break.
I also have memories of savoring Dalmung Sandwich from the cart opposite building number 6, or amazing Dal pakwan at Vig, in Chembur, while enjoying a stay at Grandparent’s home, pampered with food, food and more food by aunts, Uncles and cousins. You can read more about Chembur Street food here!
I have already shared recipes of Dal mung and Dal moth on the blog but today we are talking about Dal Dimma!
Honestly speaking I was not aware of the term Dimma as it is called Dal mung in my home town. But thanks to the Sindhirasoi facebook group I got to know that a dal preparation without using tomatoes or onions/garlic is called Dimma. I am yet to find the actual meaning of the word Dimma but I need to thank Mr Manohar Pamnani, Mr Sanjay Lulla, Ms Dolly Atmaram Chandwani and Ms Shashi Nagpal who shared their valuable inputs and their memories about Dal Dimma when I approached them to understand what exactly a Dimma preparation is. Will share more about that some other time!
Also a big thanks to Barkha Khushalani Di for always helping me out with the Devanagari script. And of course, heartfelt thanks to my better half, Deepak Keswani too, for being there at every step of learning be it Alif Be or reading dictionaries, recording videos/ Insta reels or for helping out in editing clips.
Here is the video of letter formation and assembling of Dal Dimma:
Summary: So from what I gathered from discussing about Dal Dimma is that mung/ dal is boiled with just salt, turmeric and optionally, chillies and is tempered with hing (asafoetida) and cumin seeds and garnished with spice powders/garam masala.
- Serves 3
- Whole Mung 1 cup
- Salt as per taste
- Green chillies 2 or as as needed
- Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
- Garam masala powder (I used Abana's GM) ½ tsp
- Ghee / oil for tempering
- Red chilli powder ¼ tsp
- Cumin seeds ½ tsp
- Asafoetida 2 pinches
- Chana Dal ¾ cup
- Salt as per taste
- Turmeric Powder ¼ tsp
- Green chillies 1-2
- Ghee/oil for tempering
- Cumin seeds ¼ tsp
- Asafoetida a pinch
- Abana's Dal Pakwan Masala 1 heaped spoon
- Cumin seeds ½ tsp
- Mung dal (split yellow) ½ cup
- Salt as per taste
- Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
- Ghee/Oil for tempering
- Red chilli powder ½ tsp
- Black pepper powder ¼ tsp
- Boiled potato chopped 1
- Small Boiled beetroot chopped, 1
- Small Tomato chopped, 1
- Small Onion Chopped 1
- Mint coriander chutney
- Sour Tamarind chutney *
- Amchoor powder for garnish
- Fried or Roasted Green chillies 3-4
- Rinse well and soak Mung, chana dal and mung dal, separately for few hours.
- Cook each dal separately using salt, chilliies and turmeric powder, till done.
- If using Abana Dal pakwan masala, then add it while boiling Chana dal.
- You can cook each dal in a pressure cooker or slow cook in a pan.
- Mung and Chana dal are bit mushy but not completely mashed, while mung dal is cooked till buttery smooth.
- In Whole mung, add a tempering of ghee/oil, cumin seeds, hing, red chilli powder and mix well. Add some garam masala powder.
- In Chana dal, add a tempering of ghee/oil, cumin seeds, hing and chilli powder and mix well. Remember not to overcook or over-mash this dal.
- In mung dal, add a tempering of ghee/oil and red chilli powder. Add black pepper powder and mix.
- Consistency of all three should not be very runny.
- Chop salad vegetables and season with salt, pepper, chilli powder and amchoor/chaat masala.
- *To make Sour Tamarind chutney just soak some tamarind in water, squeeze well and discard the pulp. Season the tamarind water with salt, chaat masala, chilli powder and hint of sugar.
- While serving, pour some whole mung in a bowl, some chana dal on one side and mung dal on other side, garnish with some Abana Dal masala, Amchoor powder, chilli powder, salad vegetables, chutneys and dried or roasted whole chillies.
- Serve hot with bread, roti or Koki.
Picture Courtesy: Saarthak Aurora
I made Dal Dimma using Abana Brand’s Sindhi Dal (pakwan) spice mix along with Garam masala and Amchoor powder of the same brand.
Abana is a Sindhi word referring to something that is ancestral. They make some unique Sindhi spice mixes that no other brand can boast of; Sindhi Dal ( pakwan) spice mix, Sindhi Kadhi spice mix or even Sindhi Sanna Pakora and Tuk patata spice blend. The spice mixes dedicated to the Sindhi cuisine and a brand name that is so Sindhi that it stirs memories of yore like nothing else would (Remember the Sindhi Movie, Abana?), the brain child of Mr Basant Rajan, who, at the age when people retire, ventured in this field purely because of his passion for traditional food and spices. If you wish to try these Sindhi spices, please check this Box of Nostalgia, a box with 14 different spices and spice blends!
