Urad dal recipes: idli, dosa, vada, dal makhani, laddu and more

Every dish below starts from the same shelf: urad dal, split. The site's recipes name white urad split for the idli, dosa, thatte idli, vada, dahi vada, porridge and laddu, and black urad split for the khichdi and the dal makhani. Seven of the nine soak the dal overnight, about 12 hours, before grinding or cooking; the porridge and the laddu skip the soak entirely and start by roasting the dry dal. The idli, dosa and thatte idli batters ferment before cooking, while the vada batters are ground and fried the same day. The soak, quick or overnight, is laid out step by step on the how to soak urad dal page, and the urad dal hub has the nutrition behind the dal.

Four ways to start the day: the steamed idli family, the crisp dosa and a warm porridge bowl.

Idli with urad dal and rice is the classic steamed breakfast: a fermented urad and rice batter, poured into moulds and steamed soft. Prep is 15 minutes, cooking 35, and the recipe prints 360 kcal for a serving of three idlis. The recipe serves it with chutney, sambar and podi mixed with ghee.

The thin, crisp urad dal dosa comes from the same fermented dal and rice family, spread on a hot tawa. Prep is 20 minutes, cooking 30, and 415 kcal for a serving of two dosas.

Thatte idli is the plate-sized Karnataka idli, steamed in a shallow plate instead of moulds and cut into wedges. Prep is 20 minutes, cooking 30, and 382 kcal for one thatte idli.

For a warm bowl instead of a batter, the urad dal porridge (kanji) roasts the dal, grinds it to flour and simmers it with jaggery into a thick breakfast kanji. Prep is 10 minutes, cooking 20, and 309 kcal for a bowl; the recipe serves two.

Two one-pot mains, one quick and one slow.

Urad dal khichdi cooks black urad split and rice soft in one pot with a ghee, cumin and hing tempering, the Makar Sankranti bowl. Prep is 13 minutes, cooking 39, and 327 kcal for a bowl.

Dal makhani is the slow one: black urad split and rajma soaked overnight, pressure-cooked and simmered with tomatoes, ghee and kasuri methi. Prep is 20 minutes, cooking 60, and 260 kcal for a bowl. Serve the dal hot with jeera rice, or mop it up with roti or naan.

The fried pair, one crisp and one in curd.

Urad dal vada (medu vada) is the crisp ring-shaped fritter with the hole in the middle, fried from thick ground urad batter. Prep is 15 minutes, cooking 25, and 228 kcal for a serving of two vadas. The recipe serves it with coconut chutney and sambar for dipping.

Dahi vada takes the same fried vadas and soaks them in whisked, spiced curd. Prep is 20 minutes, cooking 25, and 232 kcal for two vadas in curd.

One sweet to close the list.

Urad dal laddu roasts white urad split, grinds it to flour and rolls it with jaggery and ghee into 12 soft laddus. Prep is 15 minutes, cooking 19, and 166 kcal per laddu. The recipe serves it with warm milk or with tea, and the laddus travel well, so they make a good lunchbox snack or a festival gift-box pick.

Sort the nine by the clock: the porridge needs 30 minutes all told, the laddu 34 and the vada 40, with no fermentation wait. The idli, dosa and thatte idli add their overnight fermentation to the times above, dahi vada soaks its vadas twice before serving, and dal makhani is the slow weekend dish at 80 minutes after an overnight soak. All the soaked dishes share the same first step, so the how to soak urad dal page is the natural companion. Pick by the meal rather than the clock: breakfast means the idli family, lunch the khichdi, tea the vadas and the laddu; once you choose, follow the linked recipe exactly.

What to make with urad dal?

The nine dishes above cover the everyday set: idli, dosa, thatte idli and porridge for breakfast; khichdi and dal makhani for lunch or dinner; vada and dahi vada as snacks; and laddu as the sweet. Each links to its full recipe with steps, ingredients and nutrition per serving. For the plainest everyday version, start with the khichdi or the porridge, which skip the fermentation step.

Which urad dal is used for dosa?

The site's urad dal dosa recipe grinds white urad split, soaked overnight. The same white split is what the recipes here use for the idli, thatte idli, vada and dahi vada batters, while the khichdi and dal makhani use black urad split.

Can you use black urad dal for dosa?

COWBERRY's product pages list black urad split for dosa and idli batter as well, so either split works; expect a darker dosa with the black split. The site's dosa recipe itself uses white urad split, soaked overnight.

How to make black gram dal?

Soak the black urad split overnight, about 12 hours, cook it fully soft, then temper it. The khichdi here cooks the dal and rice together with a ghee, cumin and hing tempering, and dal makhani is the slower version with rajma, tomatoes and ghee; both are linked above.

How to make tasty urad dal?

The recipes above get their taste from two moves: the overnight soak and the tempering or fermentation that follows. The idli, dosa and thatte idli batters ferment, the khichdi is tempered with ghee, cumin and hing, and dal makhani simmers with tomatoes, ghee and kasuri methi. Pick the dish first, then follow its recipe exactly.

Can black gram be sprouted?

Yes. Sprouting is one of the household methods the ICMR-NIN guidelines list for pulses, and black gram sprouts the same way. None of the nine recipes on this page calls for sprouts; each is built on soaked split dal, or on roasted dal flour.