Dal Tadka

Soft yellow lentils finished with a sizzling tadka of ghee, cumin, garlic and dried red chillies.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 40 min
Cook: 50 min
Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Vegetarian
✅
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Very Easy

Ingredients

  • 250g toor dal (split pigeon peas)
  • 1 litre water
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • Pinch of ground asafoetida
  • 2 dried red chillies
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 green chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

  1. Rinse the dal until the water runs clear and soak in cold water for 30 minutes. Drain.

  2. Put the dal, water, turmeric and salt in a pan. Bring to the boil, skim off any foam, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the dal is soft and creamy. Add hot water if it gets too thick.

  3. Heat 1 tbsp of the ghee in a frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the onion for 8 minutes until golden. Add the green chilli, tomatoes, chilli powder and ground coriander and cook for 5 minutes until soft and oily. Stir into the dal.

  4. For the tadka, heat the remaining 2 tbsp ghee in a small pan over a medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds and cook until they crackle. Add the asafoetida, dried chillies and garlic and cook for 30 to 40 seconds until the garlic is golden.

  5. Pour the sizzling tadka over the dal. Stir in the lemon juice and fresh coriander and serve with rice or chapatis.