Barnala Village Dal Tadka Sun Drying Preservation

In Barnala's farming villages, women prepare vadiyaan and mangori from mixed pulse pastes as a monsoon and summer sun-drying preservation practice: urad or moong dal is soaked, ground wet, mixed with asafoetida and cumin, and dropped by spoonfuls onto plastic sheets or charpoys in the sun to dry for three to four days into hard white dumplings. These dried vadiyaan are stored in cloth bags through the year and added to potato or karela sabzi as a flavouring protein; they last 12 months without refrigeration and are a central food preservation technology in Barnala's agricultural calendar.