Dalcha Recipe Hyderabadi with Mutton

Dalcha with mutton and kaddu is yet another Hyderabadi cuisine often made with meat or mutton mixed in bottle gourd (kaddu) and dal(lentils). It is the most common dish made in Hyderabad which has been passing on since the Nizam's era.

Other Hyderabadi recipes to try out are dal gosht, how to make chicken biryani, hyderabadi mutton biryani.

Jump to:

• About dalcha
• Ingredients
• Step by step procedure
• Recipe

About dalcha

Mutton Dalcha is usually prepared during lunchtime. It is a very good combination with Bagara khana. Not just mutton but one can even add chicken or add just veggies and make as chicken dalcha or veg dalcha.

To the Dalcha in Hyderabad, we generally add kaddu(lauki in Hindi or bottle gourd in English) as the combination of meat, lauki and lentils(toovar dal)  along with spices makes the dish very tasty.

It is basically a dal gosht dalcha mixed with lentils, non-veg and veg and combined together makes a delicious side dish to be eaten with any rice recipe mainly bagara rice.

         Adding meat with bones in the  Dalcha Recipe gives a very good taste as the juice extracted from the bones and mixed into the daal brings out a very good taste in the dish.

Dalcha also brings out a tangy flavour as the tamarind pulp is added while making the dish. Another Hyderabadi dal that is incomplete without adding tamarind is Hyderabadi khatti dal.

          The accompaniment that can go well along with this recipe is the mutton fry recipe or it is also good with shami kabab or chicken shami kabab and rice.

                                               Tamarind pulp is the main ingredient as the recipe is not in a good taste without the tangy tamarind pulp. It is made on occasion and is a wonderful side dish eaten with special rice delicacies.

                      Here in this recipe, I have made dalcha with toovar dal(yellow lentils)/ toor dal. The same dalcha can be made without the mutton and is called kaddu dalcha.

Dalcha can also be prepared with chana dal and mutton and to know more about that recipe read on my dalcha recipe from the blog.

It is definitely a do try dish when someone visits Hyderabad and it should be served with bagara rice and shami kabab.

                   Check out the detailed step by step procedure below on how to make dalcha.

Mutton recipes

Other mutton recipes to try out on the blog are lamb pasanda, mutton sukka, mutton do pyaza etc...

Ingredients

Mutton: I am using mutton with bones here as dalcha tastes good and releases juicy flavors in the curry if bones attached to lamb or mutton are added. Using boneless mutton is not preferred as it does not bring out the required taste.

dal or lentils: Using toor dal is fine but other combinations that go into making this dalcha is chana dal and toor dal combined which also is a great option. Only chana dal too can be used in place of toor dal.

bottle gourd or kaddu: Dalcha in Hyderabad is incomplete without adding kaddu and the shape of the kaddu is long and cut diagonally to give an appealing look. Using fresh kaddu helps in tenderizing the bottle gourd quickly. If kaddu is hard enough then cooking for 1 whistle is enough.

onions and tomatoes: To give the curry a gravy texture and the needed taste these ingredients go hand in hand and cannot be made without these two simple and yummy veggies.

dry spices: Basic dry spices along with ginger garlic paste is added to give the dal a delicious flavor.

whole spices: These spices include cardamom, cinnamon, shahi zeera, bay leaf, cloves etc...which make the dalcha aromatic.

tamarind pulp: The main part of making the recipe is adding of the tamarind extract which gives a slight tangy touch to the dal and is an important ingredient in making this recipe.

herbs: adding green herbs such as curry leaves, chillies, coriander leaves makes the dalcha highly flavorful and gives a pleasant aroma to the plain dal gosht.

Step by step procedure

Cooking dal

• In a pressure cooker, add toovar dal, add turmeric powder, add curry leaves, add water and pressure cook until the dal is tenderised. Cook it for about 10 minutes or 5-6 whistles.

• Mash it well without lumps and keep aside.

Cooking mutton and mixing dal

Heat 3 tablespoon oil and add 1 cinnamon stick, 1 cardamom, 2 cloves, ½ teaspoon shahi zeera, 1 bay leaf.

Add 1 large onion, finely sliced and saute the onions until they turn soft.

Add 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste and saute few seconds to get rid of raw smell. Then add 500 gms mutton with bones.

Saute the mutton until the color of mutton changes.

Add 2 tomatoes, finely chopped. Also, add salt as per taste, 1 teaspoon red chilli powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.

Mix well and cook until the tomatoes turn soft.

Add 1 glass water and mix well.

Pressure cook until mutton turns tender(4-5 whistles on low heat).

Reduce the steam and remove the lid. Add 1 medium size bottle gourd/ kaddu pieces(peeled and cut into diagonal long pieces).

Mix, cover and cook until the kaddu turns tender(10-12 minutes). If bottle gourd is hard and firm then pressure cook for 1 whistle.

Stir in between. Add 1 cup tamarind extracted pulp.

Add 1 cup cooked and mashed toor dal.

Give a good mix without lumps. Add 1 cup water or as per consistency required. Also, add 8-10 fresh curry leaves, add 2 tablespoon coriander leaves, add 3-4 green chillies. Adjust salt as per taste.

Add ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder. Mix well.

Add ½ tomato optional. Cover and bring it to a boil.

Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve the dalcha hot with bagara rice.

Recipe