Dal Tadka
Yellow lentils tempered with cumin, garlic and red chillies in hot ghee. The everyday dal of North Indian homes and dhabas.
By Maa Di Rasoi ·
Dal Tadka
Ingredients
- 1 cuptoor dal, rinsed
- ½ tspturmeric
- 3 cupwater
- 1onion, finely chopped
- 1tomato, chopped
- 1 tspginger, grated
- For the tadka
- 2 tbspghee or oil
- 1 tspcumin seeds
- 4garlic cloves, sliced
- 2dried red chillies
- ½ tspKashmiri chilli powder
- 1 pinchhing
- 2 tbspcoriander leaves
- —Salt, to taste
Quantities scale from the tested 4-serving batch. Cooking times may change for large batches.
Method
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Pressure-cook the dal with turmeric, salt and water for 4 whistles. Whisk until smooth.
In a pan, cook the onion in 1 tbsp of the ghee until golden. Add ginger and tomato and cook until soft.
Add the dal and simmer 5 minutes, adding water for a pourable consistency.
For the tadka, heat the remaining ghee. Add cumin, garlic, red chillies and hing; when the garlic turns golden, take it off the heat and add chilli powder.
Pour the tadka over the dal, cover for 1 minute, and finish with coriander.
Notes & substitutions
- Use oil instead of ghee to make it vegan.
- Moong dal cooks faster and is lighter on the stomach.
Questions
Can I make it without a pressure cooker?
Soak the dal for 30 minutes and simmer in a covered pot for 40–45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Diet & allergens
- Dairy (if using ghee)
- Check hing: most compounded hing contains wheat flour
Based on the listed ingredients. Check labels on packaged products such as hing, which is often blended with wheat flour.
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