Sultani Dal. Think of it as a dal that is dressed for a wedding. Toor dal is simmered with cream and yogurt and finished with saffron. It is smooth, mellow, and gently aromatic.
Sultani Dal is a creamy lentil dish that brings the elegance of Mughal kitchens to your table. Though often described as a Nawabi or Mughlai classic, this luxurious dal is more a modern interpretation you’d find in restaurants rather than the history books.
Therefore, the recipe is pretty open to interpretation, there’s no one way to make it.
What makes my version different?
It’s the balance between being rich and overly indulgent. Sultani Dal should taste luxurious, not heavy. Instead of relying solely on cream or butter, I use a delicate blend of yogurt, milk, cream and saffron to keep it light.
We love Gujarati toor dal day-to-day in our house but this is our go-to recipe for special occasions. We love eating it around festivities such as Diwali or celebratory dinner parties.
As it’s delicate, it is easier to pair with rich curries like vegetable paneer makkhanwala .
If you are looking for something stronger and robust but with a royal touch, try my dal maharani .
Ingredients notes
Be sure to check out the full recipe and exact ingredient list below in the recipe card.
Toor Dal (Split Pigeon Peas) – this creamy dal is the base. Once boiled it becomes soft and silky.
Ghee – a signature of royal kitchens. Ghee adds depth and aroma, especially when used in the final tempering. It carries the flavour of spices beautifully and makes the dal feel indulgent. I use homemade ghee made from unsalted butter .
Whole spices – green cardamom, cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon bark which are boiled with the dal to infuse the flavour
Cumin seeds – a key whole spice in the tempering. Cumin’s earthy warmth offsets the sweetness of the dairy and adds a welcome pop of aroma.
Spice powders – red chilli powder, turmeric powder and hing
Ginger garlic paste – adds warmth. It’s directly boiled with the dal so that the flavours mellow.
Green chillies – balances the richness with gentle heat. I use them sliced rather than chopped for a more elegant presentation.
Milk, yogurt & cream – This trio builds the sultani richness. I use whole milk to lighten and add smoothness. Full fat plain yogurt adds tang and fresh cream adds silkiness.
Saffron – the royal touch. Steeped in warm milk before being stirred in, saffron lends not just golden colour but subtle floral warmth that takes this dal from comforting to celebratory.
And to serve with – fresh coriander leaves and lemon wedges .
Other Dal Recipes
Dhaba Style Dal Fry
Dal Makhani
Garlicky Moong Dal with Carrot Greens
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Sultani Dal
Ingredients
- 150 gram toor daal
- 1 teaspoon ginger and garlic puree
- 4 green Cardamom pods
- 3 cloves
- 1 bay Leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red Chilli Powder
- salt to taste
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup single cream
- 3 tablespoon yogurt
- 10-12 strands saffron
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 1 tablespoon cumin Seeds
- pinch asafoetida hing
- 2 green chillies
- 2 tablespoon coriander
Instructions
- Wash the dal under running clean water.
- To your pressure cooker or instant pot, add the washed toor dal, cardamom, clove, bay leaf, cinnamon, ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder and turmeric powder.
- Add around 500 – 600 mls of water.
- Close the lid and HIGH pressure cook for 7 minutes or 3-4 whistles in a stove top pressure cooker. After 10 minutes NPR, release the pressure manually.
- Remove the whole spices and add more water if needed.
- Blend the dal with a hand blender until smooth.
- Whisk together yogurt, milk and cream in a small bowl and add into the daal. Also tip back in the whole spices which were removed before.
- Add saffron threads.
- Select SAUTE mode and cook the dal for 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare a vaghar. In a small pan, heat ghee, add the cumin and hing. Once the seeds splutter, add slit green chillies.
- Pour the vaghar over the cooked dal.
- Garnish the dal with finely chopped coriander.
Video
Notes
- In a saucepan, add the the toor dal along with 2 cups of clean water and cardamom, cloves, cinnamon/cassia bark, bay leaves, chilli powder, turmeric powder, and the ginger and garlic puree.
- Simmer the dal until soft and mushy (it will take between 35-40 minutes). Check the water level throughout and if needed add half a cup water while cooking.
- Continue with the recipe highlighted above.
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Sultani Dal
Ingredients
- 150 gram toor daal
- 1 teaspoon ginger and garlic puree
- 4 green Cardamom pods
- 3 cloves
- 1 bay Leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red Chilli Powder
- salt to taste
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup single cream
- 3 tablespoon yogurt
- 10-12 strands saffron
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 1 tablespoon cumin Seeds
- pinch asafoetida hing
- 2 green chillies
- 2 tablespoon coriander
Instructions
- Wash the dal under running clean water.
- To your pressure cooker or instant pot, add the washed toor dal, cardamom, clove, bay leaf, cinnamon, ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder and turmeric powder.
- Add around 500 - 600 mls of water.
- Close the lid and HIGH pressure cook for 7 minutes or 3-4 whistles in a stove top pressure cooker. After 10 minutes NPR, release the pressure manually.
- Remove the whole spices and add more water if needed.
- Blend the dal with a hand blender until smooth.
- Whisk together yogurt, milk and cream in a small bowl and add into the daal. Also tip back in the whole spices which were removed before.
- Add saffron threads.
- Select SAUTE mode and cook the dal for 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare a vaghar. In a small pan, heat ghee, add the cumin and hing. Once the seeds splutter, add slit green chillies.
- Pour the vaghar over the cooked dal.
- Garnish the dal with finely chopped coriander.
Video
Notes
- In a saucepan, add the the toor dal along with 2 cups of clean water and cardamom, cloves, cinnamon/cassia bark, bay leaves, chilli powder, turmeric powder, and the ginger and garlic puree.
- Simmer the dal until soft and mushy (it will take between 35-40 minutes). Check the water level throughout and if needed add half a cup water while cooking.
- Continue with the recipe highlighted above.
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Lachha Rabri is an exquisite Indian dessert made with only 2 main ingredients. Using a special technique, this thickened and sweetened milk has layers of lachha or malai giving it its distinct flavour and texture.
Creamy Lachha Rabdi
What is Lachedar or Lachha Rabri
Laccha is the name for the malai or skin that forms when full-fat milk is boiled. A large quantity of milk is gently reduced and sweetened until it reaches an almost condensed milk consistency and can then be flavoured how you desire.
If the rabdi is to be served with other sweets, it is kept plain.
If it is to be eaten alone can be flavoured with saffron, rose water, or nuts.
We love to add Kesar to our rabdi and make Kesar Lachha Rabdi which is an even richer alternative with a beautiful golden hue.
When to serve Rabri
Shahi Tukda is also a delicious dessert with fried bread and rabri.
Rabri, of course, can be enjoyed on its own too and makes the perfect dessert after a spicy meal composed of Restaurant Style Garlic and Coriander Naan , Indian Vegetable Curry and Sultani Daal
Serve the rabdi chilled!
Why add cream in Rabri
We add cream in our rabri as the full-fat milk in the UK is a lower fat percentage than that found in other countries. You do not have to add cream to yours if you do not wish.
Tips for the best Rabri
There are no shortcuts to achieving the best Rabdi – time and patience will definitely be rewarded with this dessert!
Here are some tips to make Indian sweet shop or halwai style rabri:
A tip that my Mum taught me for separating the malai from the milk is to use little wooden skewers to collect the malai – technique is shown further in the recipe video. This is particularly useful if you have a pan that doesn’t have sloping sides where you can keep pushing and collecting the malai to the side.
Make sure to keep scraping to the bottom of the pan otherwise the milk will start to burn and stick.
Keep an eye on the heat – you can keep it on high at first to heat the milk, then as it comes to a rolling boil, lower the heat to medium.
A trick that I found helps with getting the malai or lachha to form faster is to keep a desk fan angled on the milk as it boils.
If the milk does begin to burn, you can still salvage the rabri. Do not throw away but instead siphon off the milk that has not burnt and transfer to another pan to carry on cooking. If the milk does have a burnt taste, add some essense or flavouring such as saffron or rose to disguise it.
The rabdi will change colour and go creamy white rather than pure white – this is normal!
We’re looking for the milk to reduce between 1/3 and 1/4 for the best rabri. Remember that the mixture will thicken on cooling so it may still seem a little runny when you turn off the heat.
Why use a thick bottom pan
Storage
Ingredients for Rabri:
Whole milk
Sugar – use white granulated sugar
Cardamom powder
Optional: single or double cream
You will need:
A heavy-bottomed non-stick pan
Time, time, and time!
Method:
Other milk-based Indian desserts:
Quick Seviyan Kheer
Shahi Mango Paneer Kheer
1 minute Instant Pot Sheer Khurma
Instant Pot Doodh Poha Kheer
If you are looking for more Indian Sweets inspiration – look no further than our 19 Best Barfi Peda Recipes
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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LACHHA RABDI
Ingredients
- 2 ltr. whole milk
- 200 ml double cream
- 100 g sugar
- Big pinch cardamom powder
- 2-3 tbsp. slivered nuts
- Dried rose petals
- Silver foil
Instructions
- First, rinse the heavy-based pan or kadai with cold water.
- Pour the milk into the pan and bring it to boil on medium heat.
- Lower the heat and let the milk simmer but keep stirring.
- Take a clean bamboo skewer and rest it on the pan.
- Now keep collecting the milk skin on the skewer.
- Keep repeating this step whilst stirring the milk.
- Once the milk reduced to 1/3 add cream and cook the mixture further 5 minutes.
- Then add sugar and collected malai in the reduced milk.
- Combine everything, cook the rabdi further for 5 minutes.
- Add cardamom powder, turn off the heat and let the rabdi cooldown.
- Garnish it with slivered nuts, rose petals and edible foil if using.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
