NineFoods technique guide · Smoke and flavour

Dhungar: How to Add Coal Smoke to Daal, Kebabs and Karahi

Red hot coal. Ghee on top. Lid on, 2 minutes.

Written by Farwa ZeeshanRecipe developer, NineFoods

Dhungar, also called dhuni, is the trick behind the smoky taste of restaurant daal, kebabs and karahi: a piece of red hot charcoal is placed in a small bowl inside the pot, drizzled with ghee and covered so the smoke is trapped. It takes two minutes, but timing and safety matter.

2 minSmoke time

1Piece of coal

5Dishes it works on

Dhungar: How to Add Coal Smoke to Daal, Kebabs and Karahi

Where to use dhungar

Tap a dish to see how

Timing differs by dish.

Method

How to do dhungar

Hold a piece of natural charcoal over a gas flame with tongs until red hot all over.
Put a small steel bowl or an onion skin cup on top of the food.
Place the coal in it and pour half a teaspoon of ghee on the coal.
Cover the pot tightly at once and leave 2 minutes.
Remove the bowl and coal, stir and serve.

Safety

Doing it safely indoors

Use natural lump charcoal, not briquettes with lighter fluid.
Use long tongs and a heatproof bowl.
Ventilate the kitchen and switch on the hood.
Let the coal cool in water before throwing it away.

Without coal

Alternatives to coal

A drop of liquid smoke or a pinch of smoked paprika gives some smokiness. A cast iron pan heated until smoking and used to sear kebabs also adds char. Neither is as aromatic as real coal.

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