Hearty and flavorful, a warm bowl of dal tadka can change your day! Easy to prepare with pantry ingredients, and in very few steps, this recipe is quick and flavorful, perfect when served with fragrant rice or with flatbreads, such as rotis, naan, or chapatti.
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There are few things as terrifying as cooking lentils for someone who's never done it before, and I am not kidding. My poor toor dal lentils have been too hard, stuck to the bottom of my pan, oversoaked, and plain burnt... many times!
When I met Jay many years ago [I can't believe it's been THAT long!], he would prepare homestyle dal, or how he would call it Ghar ki dal [ghar ki daal], as that's what would make a cold winter in the outskirts of London warm enough.
As the loving person I am, I realized that while trying to cook restaurant-style meals can be extremely romantic once in a while, ultimately, homecooked food tastes much better, tastes of love.
So, after many trials, and as many errors, here is the best, creamiest tadka dal recipe you will ever try. I have been cooking this at home for over ten years and every time I change it a bit here and there, always keeping the basics, but adapting it to what it will be served with.
This dal tadka recipe is easily prepared in two steps, with toor dal, also known as arhar dal or tuvar dal, or yellow split Pigeon peas, finely chopped onions, tomatoes, and spices pressure cooked to a creamy consistency, and finally topped with a simple tadka flavored with extra garlic. Yes, homestyle tastes better than restaurant style dal this time!
Dal Tadka Ingredients
- Lentils: The obvious ingredient for a lentil recipe. Try to opt for toor dal that is not oily, as that is normally produced to last longer on shelves, as the lentils will look healthy for longer.
- Tomato, and Onion: They are cooked with the lentils, to offer tanginess and consistency to the recipe.
- Ginger and Garlic: For taste.
- Green Chilies: A great way of adding spice while not changing color of this yellow dal tadka.
- Cumin Seeds: These are used with the lentils and in the tadka at the end, as they add a warming note.
- Turmeric Powder: The only Indian ground spice cooked with the lentils.
- Oil, and Salt: Vegetable oil [or any unflavored oil] and seasoning.
- Mustard Seeds: Typically used in tadkas.
- Hing [Asoafetida]: This is optional, however it absolutely elevates the dish with its savory notes.
- Dry Red Chili: This is an optional ingredient too, but delightful in the tadka.
- Curry Leaves: This is one of the few ingredients that can completely change the dish; use them fresh or frozen for maximum flavor, although dry they work well too. Add them at the last moment, making sure not to burn them.
- Lemon Juice: To add a tangy and fresh tone.
- Ghee: Optional, offers richness as a final touch.
- Cilantro [Fresh Coriander]: To garnish.
How To Make Dal Tadka?
- Start by rinsing the toor dal before pressure cooking it for 20 minutes from the moment it starts boiling with water, onions, tomato, ginger, garlic, green chilies, cumin seeds, and turmeric powder.
- Once these ingredients are cooked and the lentils are mushy (you need to find the right balance of water and lentils to cook them in 20 minutes only… see the list of ingredients below in the recipe card for details), wait for the pressure cooker to be ready to be opened before adding some lemon juice and more water to bring it to the desired consistency.
- As a final step, prepare a tadka of sunflower oil, mustard seeds, more cumin seeds and garlic, dry red chilies, curry leaves, hing (asafoetida), and put it on top of the yellow dal recipe while it is nice and hot.
- As an optional, this delicious dal can be topped with a little bit of ghee and some freshly chopped cilantro [fresh coriander]… then mix and serve!
Dal Tadka Video Recipe
People Also Ask [FAQs]
Dal tadka is a traditional Indian dish made of lentils. The most frequently used lentils are yellow Pigeon peas, also known as toor dal, arhar dal, or tuvar dal, however many also use split red lentils [masoor dal].
The lentils for the dal fry are cooked and then added to a simple onion and tomato masala, while the lentils in toor dal tadka are cooked with these ingredients and, once ready, tampering [tadka] is added on top.
This toor ki dal can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days. It can also be frozen in the same way, where it will keep for up to two months.
Before serving again, ensure it is piping hot through and through.
This dal tadka tastes delicious with any Indian flatbreads, such as rotis, chapattis, naans, and even parathas. This lentil dish also works wonders as a side dish to main courses such as fish fry, or chicken fry.
Tips and Tricks for Dal Tadka
- Chili: Although ideally, you wouldn't want to change the color of this yellow dal tadka, sometimes a little extra heat is needed! If the green chilies just won't cut it, add some red chili powder or Kashmiri chili powder to the pan at the same time as the turmeric.
- Lentils: You don't need to use yellow Pigeon peas to make dal necessarily, and you can in fact use different types as well as mix them. Good and popular options are masoor dal, moong dal, or urad dal.
- Make it your own: You can balance the richness and tanginess of the dal by using more or fewer tomatoes, lemon juice, and spices.
- Vegan Option: The only non-vegan ingredient in this dal tadka is the ghee, which can be skipped altogether or swapped for a dollop of vegan butter, although the result won't be the same.
This dal tadka recipe is great for lunch or dinner, at home, or as part of a lunch box and it can be served with anything on the side or as the main dish… it won’t disappoint!
Ready in way less time than expected, this lentil dish is real soul food, warming, comforting, and flavorful. Enjoy your homestyle lentil curry or dal tadka!
🥗 Have a look at these recipes too:
- Easy Potato Curry
- Simple Chicken Curry
- Yummy Potato and Coconut Curry
- Sambar Recipe
- Kerala Egg Curry
- Potato and Cauliflower Curry
- Green Peas Curry
Recipe
How To Make Dal Tadka
Ingredients
For the dal base:
- ¾ Cup Toor Dal Rinsed
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tomato Roughly Chopped
- 1 Onion Roughly Chopped
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Thinly Chopped
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Thinly Chopped
- 3 Green Chilies Slit on the side
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 2 Cups Water Room Temperature
For the Tadka
- 1 tablespoon Sunflower Oil or any flavorless vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 Garlic Cloves Roughly Chopped
- ½ teaspoon Hing Asafoetida
- 2 Dry Red Chilies
- 10-15 Curry Leaves
Other ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or Clarified Butter optional
- 10 g Freshly Chopped Coriander optional, to garnish
Instructions
Prepare the dal base
- To prepare the base of the homestyle dal, add the rinsed lentils, salt, chopped onion and tomato, ginger and garlic, green chilies, cumin seeds, turmeric, and water to the pressure cooker, mix well and put to cook on a high flame; once the ingredients are boiling and the pressure cooker starts steaming, reduce the heat to medium and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes (it depends on the heat produced by the medium flame and how tight is the pressure cooker). Ensure you do not overcook the lentils as to cook it this quickly this recipe adds just enough water for the amount of lentils and overcooking them may mean them sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Once the lentils and all the other ingredients are cooked, remove the pressure cooker from the heat and allow it to depressurize; once the pressure cooker is ready, open it and mix the lentils before adding the amount of water needed to achieve the consistency desired and put the pan back on the heat.
- Once the dal is lightly simmering again, add the lemon juice and mix well then remove from the heat again.
For the final step, prepare the tadka
- To prepare the tadka, heat the sunflower oil and once this is warm add the mustard seeds and after 10-15 seconds the cumin seeds; after another 10 seconds, add the roughly chopped garlic and allow it to cook until golden and until the smell of rawness has gone.
- At this stage add the hing, mix well and finish off with the dry red chilies, which you will break in two before adding, and the curry leaves; after the curry leaves and red chilies have been in the oil for about 10 seconds (do not overcook them, they will burn quickly!) add the tadka on top of the dal while it is still warm and mix well!
Optional steps
- To give an extra layer of flavor, after the above steps have been completed, the homestyle dal can be finished with one tablespoon of ghee and some freshly chopped coriander.
- Mix, serve, and enjoy!
Nidhi Patel
This is an excellent recipe. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out fantastic. It was a hit with my family, so I'll be making it again. This dhal was served with tandoori roti and some pickle.
Elle
Thank you, Nidhi! So happy to hear so!