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Daal Pakwaan_Lentil Tostadas - Vegan and Glutenfree
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5 from 1 vote

Daal Pakwaan Recipe - Lentil Tostadas (Vegan, Gluten-free)

Daal Pakwaan is a traditional Sindhi Breakfast given a modern twist to make Lentil Tostadas that are vegan and gluten free. Enjoy this spicy (or not) meal with bold flavors of Indian spices.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Soaking Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 4 people (2 each)
Author: Vaishali

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker (optional)

Ingredients

For Daal (Lentils):

  • 2 cup chana daal soaked
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 tablespoon avocado oil I recommend using ghee if not making it vegan
  • 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 green chili minced optional
  • 2 sprigs curry leaves optional but highly recommended
  • ¼ teaspoon heeng asafoetida
  • 1 teaspoon amchur dried mango powder
  • 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red chili powder of your choice, adjust amount according to the heat
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala

For Serving:

  • Gluten-free tostadas - 8
  • Green Mint Cilantro chutney
  • Sweet Tamarind Chutney
  • ½ cup finely chopped red onion
  • ½ cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 1 -2 green chillies finely chopped (optional)

Instructions

To make the daal:

  • If you are able to, soak the daal/lentils for at least 30 minutes. This will cut down the daal cooking time. The time given below is after I soaked the daal for 30 minutes in warm water.
  • Drain the lentils and add to your pressure cooker with 3 cups of water, salt and turmeric. Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes and wait for the pressure to release naturally. See notes.
  • Set a heavy bottomed saute pan on medium high heat. Add avocado oil (ghee, if not making it vegan) and once it’s shimmery and hot, add cumin seeds.
  • Once the cumin seeds start to crackle add minced green chili and curry leaves (stand back, curry leaves splutter). Turn the heat to low.
  • Add heeng, amchur powder, cayenne powder, and garam masala. Let the spices toast for a minute until nice and fragrant. This is your masala.
  • Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked lentils (you do not want the broth or cooking liquid) to the saute pan with the prepared tempering/masala. Turn the heat up to medium.
  • Add salt and garam masala. Mix and cook for a minute or two. Your daal for daal pakwaan is ready. Keep aside.

To serve Daal Pakwaan/Lentil Tostadas:

  • When ready to serve, make sure that the lentils are warm. Place a tostada on a chopping board or serving dish and spread around ¼th cup of daal on it.
  • Spread chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro and green chili on the daal and squeeze some lime on it. Drizzle 1 to 2 teaspoon each of mint-cilantro and sweet-tamarind chutneys. Serve immediately and enjoy!!

Notes

If you have an instant pot, cook the lentils on manual pressure for 8 minutes and then let the pressure release naturally.
Add 5 minutes to the cooking time if the lentils were not soaked.
In an open pot, the lentils might take upto 30 minutes to cook until al-dente.
Find the chutney recipes here!
If you cannot find tostadas, you can use khasta mathi or papdi from Indian store (not gluten-free)
This dish is traditionally made spicy. Feel free to choose a green chili to your likeness - jalapeno, serrano, thai chili etc.