Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Goan Dalicha Ras
Goan Dalicha Ras (Spicy Turmeric Dal with Sichuan Pepper)

Goan Dalicha Ras

Spicy Turmeric Dal with Sichuan Pepper
Vegetarian

A Goan-style toor dal enriched with a fresh coconut and tamarind paste, then finished with crushed Sichuan pepper. It is creamy and tangy, with a gentle chilli heat and a lingering pepper tingle.

Coconut paste spices

3.7 gBlended into the coconut paste (step 2)
01
1.5 g½ teaspoon
spice
02
2.2 g1 teaspoon
spice
Blend with the coconut, tamarind and water until completely smooth.

Sichuan pepper

0.1 gStirred into the dal near the end (step 5)
01
Sichuan peppercorncoarsely crushed (halve this if you prefer the dish less spicy)
0.1–0.1 g10–12 berries
spice
Crush coarsely; stir in at the end.

Everything else

02
994 g1 l
liquid
03
~0.3 gpinch
sweetener
04
to taste
salt
05
Coconut · Nariyalgrated fresh or frozen
100 g
fruit
06
12 g2 teaspoons
souring agent
07
149 g150 ml
liquid

Method

  1. Put 200 g toor dal and 994 g water in a large saucepan. Heat on medium until bubbling, then lower the heat and cook at a gentle bubble for 45–50 minutes, until the lentils are tender; stir now and then. Turn off the heat, cover and let stand to cool a little.
  2. Blend 100 g coconut, 12 g tamarind paste, 149 g water and the coconut paste spices (1.5 g ground turmeric, 2.2 g mild chilli powder) until completely smooth. Keep to one side.
  3. Blend the cooked dal with a stick blender or mash it with a potato masher until smooth.
  4. Heat the dal on low, stir in the coconut paste and loosen with a little more water if it is too thick.
  5. Stir in the Sichuan pepper (0.1 g coarsely crushed Sichuan peppercorn), 0.3 g granulated sugar and salt to taste. Simmer for 7–10 minutes, stirring all the time.
  6. Turn off the heat and serve warm with plain rice.

Don't have something?

Toor dal
  • Red lentils

    Use equal weight. Cooks considerably faster and breaks down into a softer, creamier consistency with an earthier taste.

  • Chana dal

    Use equal weight. Requires longer soaking and cooking; remains firmer with a nuttier bite and less starchy thickening.

  • Split mung beans

    Use equal weight. Cooks quickly to a lighter, more delicate, and silky texture.

Water
  • Stock

    Use the same weight in savoury dishes; it adds body, so adjust salt.

  • Milk

    Use the same weight only in doughs or creamy dishes; it makes the result richer.

  • Coconut water

    Use the same weight in curries or rice; it adds sweetness and a faint coconut taste.

Sichuan peppercorn
  • Black peppercorn

    Use 70% of the weight, crush coarsely. Gives heat and aroma but none of the numbing, citrus tingle.

  • Ground black pepper

    Use 50–60% of the weight; stir in near the end. Simpler heat, no tingle.

  • Star anise

    Use 20–25% of the weight, ground. Adds a citrus-anise note but not the numbing effect.

Granulated sugar
  • Jaggery

    Use equal weight; grate or shave finely so it dissolves rapidly, giving a warm, caramel-like sweetness and slightly darker sauce.

Coconut
  • Fresh coconut

    Use equal weight freshly grated or diced. Delivers the identical sweet, milky taste and juicy texture.

  • Desiccated coconut

    Use 60% of the weight and soak in hot water or milk for 15 minutes before using. The finished dish will be slightly sweeter and less fibrous.

  • Dried coconut

    Finely grate and use 50% of the weight, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes. Yields a firmer chew and a denser, oilier coconut aroma.

Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

Mild chilli powder
  • Mild paprika

    Use the same weight for colour and low heat; add a small pinch of hot chilli powder if needed.

  • Kashmiri chilli powder

    Use the same weight; similar colour, slightly more heat. Taste before adding more.

  • Red chilli powder

    Use half the weight and make up with mild paprika; red chilli powder is usually hotter.

Tamarind paste
  • Tamarind pulp

    Use 120–150% of the weight and strain; pulp is less concentrated, so simmer a little longer to thicken.

  • Tamarind extract

    Use 150–200% of the weight and reduce gently; extract is already diluted.

  • Lime juice

    Use 60–70% of the weight with a pinch of jaggery; sharper, so add near the end off the heat.

Similar dishes

Konkani Keerla Ambat
Bamboo Shoot Curry with Sichuan Pepper, Chilli and Tamarind
Konkani Keerla Ambat is tangy, mildly hot and aromatic with tender bamboo shoots in a thick dal base, while this dish is creamier and has a lingering pepper tingle.
  • Same: Konkani Keerla Ambat shares toor dal, coconut, tamarind, turmeric and a finish of crushed Sichuan pepper with this dish.
  • Different: Konkani Keerla Ambat adds bamboo shoot, dried Kashmiri chilli, asafoetida, black mustard seed and curry leaf in an oil tempering, and uses far less toor dal than this dish.
Kadalaparippu Payasam
Chana Dal Dessert
Kadalaparippu Payasam is sweet, rich, and cardamom-scented with crunchy nuts and raisins, while this dish is tangy, creamy, gently chilli-hot, and tingling from Sichuan pepper.
  • Same: Kadalaparippu Payasam shares with this dish a base of split legumes simmered with coconut in an Indian style.
  • Different: Kadalaparippu Payasam uses chana dal, jaggery, ghee, coconut milk, coconut cream, cardamom, raisins, and cashews, while this dish uses toor dal, tamarind, turmeric, chilli powder, and Sichuan pepper.
Bengali Cholar Dal
Creamy Dal with Cardamom & Coconut
Bengali Cholar Dal is soft, mildly sweet and aromatic with gentle chilli warmth, while this dish is creamy and tangy with chilli heat and a pepper tingle.
  • Same: Bengali Cholar Dal shares dal, coconut, turmeric, chilli, sugar, salt and water with this dish.
  • Different: Bengali Cholar Dal uses chana dal and a ghee-or-oil tempering with bay leaf, cumin, green chilli, raisin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and Kashmiri chilli, while this dish uses toor dal with tamarind paste and crushed Sichuan pepper.
Parippu Payasam
Green Moong Dal Flavoured with Coconut Milk
Parippu Payasam tastes sweet, creamy, and aromatic, while this dish is tangy, savoury, chilli-hot, and peppery.
  • Same: Parippu Payasam shares with this dish a dal base and coconut, using green moong dal and coconut milk where this dish uses toor dal and fresh coconut.
  • Different: Parippu Payasam is a sweet dessert with jaggery, ghee, cardamom, raisins, and cashews, and it lacks this dish's tamarind, turmeric, chilli powder, and Sichuan pepper.