Gujarati Khatti Meethi Dhal

So we met at a food festival and you got a wonderful jar of free dhal?! Let's help you cook it up! 

Ingredients: Toor Dhal (Split Pigeon Peas), Jaggery, Raisins, Salt, Turmeric, Dried Mango Powder (Amchur), Kasuri Methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves), Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Kashmiri Chilli Powder, Asafoetida (Hing).

Here at Rasoiee, we help you cook authentic Indian food from scratch. We also tell you about the dish...

Dhal is a staple in homes across India, but travel from one region to another and you'll quickly discover that no two dhals are quite the same.

Khatti Meethi Dhal is Gujarat's wonderfully distinctive take on this everyday comfort food. Khatti means sour and meethi means sweet – and that balance is exactly what makes this dhal special.

Made with toor dhal (split pigeon peas), the lentils are cooked until beautifully soft before being seasoned with a combination of sweet, sour and warming spices. The result is a light, pourable dhal that's comforting and savoury, with little bursts of sweetness and a gentle tang running through it.

Gujarati cooking is particularly well known for playing with contrasting flavours. Rather than sweetness, sourness, salt and spice competing with one another, they're carefully balanced in the same dish. Khatti Meethi Dhal is a perfect example: warming and familiar enough for a weeknight dinner, but with far more going on than your everyday bowl of lentils.

The final touch is the tadka – spices briefly tempered in hot oil to release their aromas before being poured into the cooked dhal. It's a small step that makes an enormous difference, adding fragrance, warmth and another layer of flavour.

Our Rasoiee kit has done the measuring for you. Your ingredients are divided into numbered spice packs, so all you need to do is follow the steps below.

You will need:

1. 450ml boiling water
2. 1 tbsp oil (any)
3. A whisk
4. A small pan, and a saucepan

How to make your Khatti Meethi Dhal:

1. Cook the dhal

• Rinse the toor dhal thoroughly and add it to a saucepan with 400ml boiling water.
• Cook over a medium heat until the dhal is soft, adjusting the heat between low and medium as necessary. You want the dhal to gently boil, without boiling over.
• Once the lentils look cooked and soft, add Spice Pack 1 and stir well. This should take approximately 20–25 minutes.

2. Make it khatti-meethi

• Lightly whisk or mash the cooked dhal to bring everything together.
• Add Spice Pack 2 along with 50ml water and stir. The finished dhal should have a loose, pourable consistency rather than being very thick.
• Simmer gently for 5–7 minutes, allowing those characteristic sweet and sour Gujarati flavours to develop.

3. Make the tadka

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small pan, then turn the heat to low.
• Add Spice Pack 3 and cook briefly until you hear the mustard seeds begin to crackle.
• Now add Spice Pack 4. Cook for approximately 30 seconds over a low heat, until the spices become wonderfully fragrant. Keep an eye on them – spices can burn quickly!

4. Bring it all together

• Pour the hot tadka into the dhal and stir well.
• Simmer everything together for another 1–2 minutes, then take it off the heat.
• Serve hot with rice and enjoy your little taste of Gujarat.

What should it taste like?

Don't expect this to taste like the standard dhal you might already know. That's the point!

A good Gujarati Khatti Meethi Dhal should have a noticeable sweet-and-sour character, balanced by savoury lentils, warming spices and the aromatic tadka. No single flavour should completely dominate – you should get a little sweetness, then tang, warmth and spice, all in the same spoonful.

That's what we love about regional Indian cooking. There isn't just one way to make dhal – and there are so many more flavours to discover.

Nutritional information: