Dal Tadka

A delicious Indian dal tadka that's simple and sublime.

If you love a good Indian dahl, open your hearts and tastebuds to what could very well be the most delicious dal you will ever eat: this restaurant style dal tadka. It's made with a blend of three types of healthy lentils -- toor dal, moong dal and masoor dal -- it's creamy, garlicky and smoky, and it's perfectly spiced. The tadka or tempering of mustard seeds and ginger stirred in at the finish takes this dal from gorgeous to sublime.

Dal tadka is a dish you'll often spot on an Indian restaurant menu. It's a simple but very tasty dal made with just a few basic spices and herbs and without any veggies added to it, except, often, tomatoes.

It's a creamy and comforting dal, with that perfect blend of fire from garlic and red chili pepper and tang from tomatoes. Top all of this amazing goodness with a "tadka" or tempering of hot oil with mustard seeds cracked wide open to disperse their amazing flavor into the lentils and you have a recipe for comfort.

What is "tadka"?

A "tadka" (tarka or chaunk (Hindi), thalippu (Tamil), baghar (Gujarati), phodani (Marathi) or phoron (Bengali)) is the flavored oil tempering that most Indian recipes begin or end with. In addition to enhancing the flavor of the recipe, the spices in a tadka also have health benefits and are believed to aid digestion.

To make a tadka you heat a fat, usually ghee or vegetable oil, add a few spices, like mustard seeds and/or cumin seeds, asafetida, chili peppers, herbs like ginger and garlic, and, sometimes, garam masala spices like cloves, cardamom and cinnamon.

You let the spices roast and bloom and, sometimes, crackle and sputter in the oil, which usually takes seconds. You then add this hot, flavored oil to the rest of the recipe to infuse it with the flavors of the tadka, magnifying its deliciousness.

A tadka can change the flavor profile of a recipe entirely, taking it from ho-hum to mindblowing. It is an extremely valuable tool in an Indian cook's arsenal and in this dal tadka it really makes the magic happen.

Why you'll love this dal tadka recipe

• It's divinely delicious. A tadka dal, also called dal fry, is hands-down one of the most tasty foods you will eat. It tastes amazing and the garlic and tempering take it to a new level of deliciousness.
• It's easy to make. If you have a pressure cooker cooking lentils is the easiest thing in the world--and perhaps the fastest. An Instant Pot does the job just as nicely. But even if you have to cook the lentils on the stovetop in a pot it isn't a difficult job by any means and it's done fairly fast. After that it takes minutes to put the dal together.
• It's healthy. We Indians love our dals because they are so good for you: they are a protein powerhouse and can be one of the most important sources of this nutrient for vegans and vegetarians. Lentils are also loaded with dietary fiber and they are a great source of good-for-you minerals. Add to it the plethora of benefits of eating garlic, ginger, tomatoes and chili peppers and you have a recipe for great health.
• It's everyone friendly. Like most dals, dal tadka is gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free. While restaurant and homemade dal tadka could often feature ghee, this version is, of course, exquisitely vegan.

Ingredients

• Lentils: ⅓rd cup toor dal (also called tuvar dal or arhar dal or split yellow pigeon peas), ⅓rd cup masoor dal (pink lentils), ⅓rd cup moong dal (split yellow mung lentils).
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder: Most Indian dal recipes include turmeric for health and color, and this one is no exception.
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil: Indians use a range of oils in their cooking depending on where in India they are. I use avocado oil, which is flavorless and has a high smoking point. Peanut oil is a safe bet, as are other oils like safflower oil, sunflower oil and canola oil.
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds. For wonderful earthy, smoky flavor.
• 6-8 large cloves garlic. This adds amazing garlicky flavor.
• 2 green chili peppers like serrano. You can use less or deseed the peppers for less heat.
• ¼ cup cilantro. For freshness and lemony flavor.
• 1 large tomato. Tomato adds freshness and tang.
• 1 teaspoon amchur or mango powder: Also for the tangy undertone. Use lemon or lime juice if you can't source it.
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1-inch piece ginger
• 2 dry red chili peppers, like Kashmiri red chili peppers or byadgi chili peppers. You can use Mexican arbol peppers, which are spicier.
• ½ teaspoon red chilli powder (optional). Alternatively you can also use ½ teaspoon garam masala, although I don't find this necessary.

Watch a video of how to make dal tadka

What to serve with the dal tadka

• Serve this dal tadka with rice or roti and a vegetable side like this Easy Pepper Mushroom Stir-Fry or these Bombay Potatoes or this 15-minute Shredded Brussels Sprouts Stir-Fry.
• Dal tadka is also delicious with Jeera Rice. Serve with Vegan Cucumber Raita on the side.

Expert tips for the best dal tadka

• Cook the lentils until they are mushy. In most Indian dals you are not looking for the lentils to hold their shape -- you want them to blend into a creamy consistency. This gives you the best flavor and texture. There are a few exceptions to this, like cholar dal and panchmel dal, where chana dal, which tends to hold its shape, is used. A pressure cooker or an Instant Pot does a great job of cooking dals perfectly and if you make dals often it's worth investing in one.
• Don't overcook the tomatoes. In many Indian recipes we reduce the tomatoes until the oil separates, but you don't want to go that far here. You want the tomatoes to retain their sweetness and their natural tanginess, so cook them for just a minute or two before adding the next ingredient.
• Make sure the tadka oil is hot. When you heat oil for tadka, make sure it is very hot, but not smoking, before you add mustard seeds to it. Mustard seeds and cumin seeds and other spices won't crackle and sputter in lukewarm or inadequately hot oil and will leave a bitter aftertaste in your recipe. If the oil is smoking, on the other hand, you could burn the spices and herbs before they release their flavors into the oil. The oil is at the perfect temperature if the mustard seeds begin to sputter as soon as you add them to the skillet.
• Don't walk away when making the tadka. A tadka is a quick process, usually taking no more than a few seconds. Don't begin heating the oil or add spices to it and walk away--you will almost certainly burn the tadka.
• Don't wait for everything to sputter. If you wait to hear every mustard seed you added sputter and crack open you will likely overheat and burn the tadka. Add the other ingredients, in this case the ginger, as soon as the seeds first begin to sputter.
• Turn down the heat when you begin adding seeds and spices to the hot oil. Yes, the oil should be very hot when you add the spices and seeds to it. But once the oil has heated turn down the heat to low and then add the tadka ingredients. Otherwise the sputtering seeds, and the oil coating them, can start a fire in your skillet.

Storage and reheating instructions

• Refrigerate: Store dal tadka leftovers in the fridge for up to three days.
• Freeze: You can store dal tadka in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.
• Reheat: To reheat dal tadka, defrost if frozen. The dal will thicken on standing so add some water to it to thin it out. Always check if you need more salt after adding water to a dal. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

Frequently asked questions

More dal recipes you might like

• South Indian Green Tomato Dal
• Tomato Dal
• 10-minute Vegan Dal with Basic Tomato Onion Sauce
• Vegan Dal Makhani
• Instant Pot Masoor Dal