A simple, reliable dal tadka. Toor dal cooked soft, then finished with a hot tadka of ghee, mustard seeds, cumin, garlic, dried chilli and curry leaves.
Dal is lentils, and in most Indian homes it is on the table every day. It is plain until the last minute, when a spoonful of spices fried in hot ghee, the tadka, is poured over the top with a dramatic hiss. That final step is where all the flavour comes from.
Which dal?
Toor dal (split pigeon peas) is the classic for dal fry in South and West India. Masoor dal (red lentils) cooks in 20 minutes and is a good weeknight swap. Both are at Indian grocers across the Phoenix area.
Don’t burn the garlic
The tadka takes under a minute. Have everything ready by the stove, and pull the pan off the heat as soon as the garlic is golden. Our guide to tadka explains why the order matters.
Recipe
Dal tadka, everyday lentils with a sizzle
Ingredients
Dal
- 1 cup (200 g) toor dal (split pigeon peas), or masoor dal for a quicker version
- 3½ cups water
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 small tomato, chopped (optional)
Tadka
- 2 tbsp ghee or oil
- ½ tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- A pinch of asafoetida (hing)
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 dried red chillies, broken
- 10 curry leaves
- ¼ tsp red chilli powder
- Coriander leaves and a squeeze of lemon to finish
Method
- Rinse and cook the dal. Rinse the dal until the water runs clear. Simmer with the water and turmeric, partly covered, for 30–35 minutes until completely soft (or 3 whistles in a pressure cooker, about 8 minutes on high in an electric pressure cooker).
- Season. Whisk the dal so it turns creamy. Add the salt and tomato and simmer for 5 minutes. Thin with hot water to the consistency of a thick soup.
- Make the tadka. Heat the ghee in a small pan until shimmering. Add mustard seeds; when they pop, add cumin, asafoetida, garlic and dried chillies. When the garlic turns pale gold, add the curry leaves and chilli powder and take the pan off the heat.
- Pour and serve. Pour the sizzling tadka over the dal. Finish with coriander and lemon. Serve with rice or naan.
Home-style recipe from the Biryani Pot Indian Bar & Grill Journal. It is not our restaurant's own recipe; for that, visit us.