Dal Tadka is a popular Indian dish where cooked lentils are tempered with oil/ghee and spices.
I wouldn't be wrong in saying that Dal Tadka is almost a staple with North Indian cuisine.
Dal tadka is definitely one of my favorite accompaniments with roti and rice, for sure.
Dal/Lentils are our staple foods and there are many different varieties available in our country. Few popular dishes with lentils include Dal Tadka. Moong Dal Pakoda and Dal Makhani.
Dal Tadka is made with yellow lentils.
I usually take a mix of Split Bengal Gram(Chana Dal) and Split Red Gram(Tuvar Dal), in the ratio 1:2. You can use only one of these instead. The preparation can be divided into two stages.
- cooking the dal and
- tempering
Dal Tadka - Step by Step Instruction with Pictures
Dal Tadka goes well with rotis, chapatis and rice, be it steamed rice or jeera rice.
How to Make Dal Tadka
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Dal Tadka
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 3
Ingredients
- 1 cup toor dal,
- ½ cup chana dal
- 1.5 cup of water
Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2-3 green chilies, slit
- 1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
- ⅛ cup onion, finely chopped
- ⅛ cup tomato, finely chopped
- ¼ tsp red chili powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp coriander powder
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
- Salt, to taste
Tempering
- 2 tbsp ghee (or oil)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 whole dry red chili
- 2 tsp garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp dry fenugreek leaves, crushed
- A pinch of red chili powder
Instructions
- Wash and strain dal and add into a pressure cooker.
- Add about 1.5 cups of water. Cook on medium-high heat for 3-4 whistles.
- Wait till the steam has escaped before opening the pressure cooker.
- Dal should be soft and should have the consistency of thick soup.
Seasoning
- In a pan, add oil.
- When hot, add finely chopped garlic, slit green chilies and finely chopped onion. Saute until the onions are slightly browned.
- Add finely chopped tomatoes. Combine.
- Cook until tomatoes are tender and mushy.
- Add the cooked dal along with water. Combine everything together.
- It's time to add the spices. Add red chili powder, turmeric powder, and coriander powder. Mix well.
- Bring dal to a boil. Mix again, season with salt and add fresh coriander leaves.
- Remove and set aside.
- For tadka/tempering, heat 2 tablespoon ghee in a tadka pan.
- Add cumin seeds and when it sizzles, add dry red chilies and chopped garlic.
- When the garlic is slightly browned, remove the pan from heat.
- Crush some dry fenugreek leaves with the palms of your hand and add it to the mixture. Also, add a pinch of (Kashmiri) red chili powder for added color and flavor.
- Pour the tempering over dal. Let it rest.
- Mix before serving.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Accompaniments, Indian, North Indian
- Cuisine: Indian
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Love love.
Suman Kher says
Again, simple everyday dish that most people wouldn't want to write about! This blog is a must read for anyone learning to cook! Awesome resource!! 🙂
Subha Rajagopal says
Make my mouth water!Dal Tadka is one of my favourite
SHILPA GARG says
This is my absolute fav dal. But I have never added chana dal in toor dal. but it sounds interesting. Will try it out! Thanks for sharing your recipe, Shalini!
Ramya Rao says
I dropped by to search for this recipe here and Voila! Like you had read my mind you had posted it! Let me try this out and tell you.
Looking for Panier recipes in your blog now.
Ramya says
Ofcourse, it's famous in South India too. I prepare this a lot, but I cook tomatoes in cooker itself with dal.
Holly Jahangiri says
I don't even know what some of these things are, but the recipe and picture look good enough I might Google them to find out - and try to make this! I do love lentils!