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–+ servings
Every dal does not have the typical red oil tempering. But this dal is just as tasty.
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5 from 1 vote

Dal Tadka

Dal Tadka is the commonest form of making dal and is the most delicious form of dal.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Brunch, Dinner, Side Dish
Cuisine: North Indian
Keyword: Dal Tadka, Everyday Food, Protein-Rich Food, Side dish
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 0.127kcal

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker
  • Wok
  • Spoons and Ladles

Ingredients

  • 1 cup toor dal or pigeon pea lentil
  • 3 cups Water
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 tablespoon Ghee or oil
  • ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1-2 dried red chillies broken into pieces
  • 5-6 Curry leaves
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
  • 2 Tomatoes chopped
  • Salt
  • 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
  • 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Lemon juice

Instructions

  • Rinse the lentils with water 2-3 times. Add 3 cups of water and let the lentils soak for 15-20 minutes. This soaking is optional.
  • Cook your lentils with water and turmeric powder.I prefer to cook them in the pressure cooker with my rice. Let it cook for 3-4 whistles.
  • In a pan heat the clarified butter. Splutter the mustard seeds, then the cumin seeds. Add the dry red chillies and curry leaves.
  • Saute the ginger garlic paste till the raw smell goes away.
  • Saute the finely chopped onions till light golden brown.
  • Add the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are mushy. Use a teaspoon or 2 of water if needed.
  • Pour in the mashed lentils and mix well.
  • Simmer for 5-10 minutes till you get the consistency you like. Add salt and jaggery and garam masala powder.
  • Add chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice, and stir well. Cover and set aside for the flavours to mingle.
  • Transfer to the serving bowl. Serve with flatbreads or rice.

Video

Notes

How to serve:
  • You can serve it with rotis, naan, or the Malabar parathas.
  • Plain steamed rice or jeera rice, ghee rice is also delicious with it. 
  • For a restaurant look-alike dal In fry some sliced garlic cloves till brown in oil. Switch off the flame and add Kashmiri chilli powder. Pour this oil over the dal. 
Some MSK pro tips to make Dal Tadka :
  • Fresh and good quality lentils cook fast and taste better too. 
  • Rinse the lentils' reasons are obvious. But after that soak the lentils for at least 30 minutes. When in a hurry soak in warm water for 15 minutes. 
  • Use fresh ginger, garlic, tomatoes, coriander leaves and lemon juice for better flavours. 
  • Your tempering of mustard, cumin and red chillies in hot clarified butter or oil must splutter and be fragrant. 
  • The second tadka is a lot of oil/clarified butter do it occasionally. But the flavours are amazing.  
  • Cover and set the dal aside for some time. This gives the flavours a chance to mingle. 
  • Garnish with coriander and lemon juice makes the dal just delicious. Try it.

Nutrition

Serving: 150g | Calories: 0.127kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.5g | Protein: 6.1g | Fat: 4.1g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 0mg | Potassium: 0mg | Fiber: 2.8g | Sugar: 0g | Vitamin A: 0IU | Vitamin C: 0mg | Calcium: 0mg | Iron: 0mg