Garur Dal is essentially a dal cooked with a medley of vegetables, a common format for dals in Bengal. It is cooked on the last day of the Bengali month of Ashwin, which marks the end of the Sharat (autumn) season. Some families offer it to the deities as part of the seasonal tradition.
A Dish You Can Only Make Once a Year
What makes Garur Dal special is its timing. It uses summer vegetables that are about to go out of season, along with winter vegetables that are just coming in. Some ingredients, such as water lily stalks (shapla), green tamarind (kacha tetul) and water lily rhizome (shalu), are only available during this short period. This mix is so unique that, as one recipe writer says, you cannot cook it outside this part of the year.
How It Is Cooked
The basic method is simple:
- Soak split yellow peas (motor dal) for at least two hours.
- Boil the dal until it is about 80 per cent done.
- Add harder vegetables first, such as pumpkin, ash gourd, sweet potato and water lily rhizome.
- Finish with the softest ones, green tamarind and water lily stalks.
- Stir in slit green chillies, grated coconut, sugar and turmeric.
- Some families add a tempering of whole spices at the end.
Dew, Prayer and Family Memory
In some family traditions, the dal is offered to the deities in the evening and left outside overnight under a wicker basket. The idea is to let the autumn dew bless it. It is then eaten on the first morning of Kartik. One food writer remembers her grandmother calling it a tribute to Mother Nature, as one season leaves and the next arrives.
The Autumn Aesthetic
The dish suits the mood of the season. Golden dal, pale gourds, green stalks and a pot full of vegetables make a rustic, colourful picture. It also reflects the abundance of the harvest, which makes it a fitting way to say goodbye to autumn.
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