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Green tomato dal in bowl with rice and sabzi on the side.
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5 from 12 votes

South Indian Green Tomato Dal, Thakkali Masiyal

A South Indian Green Tomato Dal or Thakkali Masiyal is a delicious summer treat. A vegan, soy-free, gluten-free and nut-free recipe.

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main/Dal
Cuisine: Indian, South Indian Tamil
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 8
Calories: 86kcal

Equipment

  • Pressure cooker or Instant Pot (preferred but not necessary)
  • Saucepan

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup moong dal (yellow mung lentils, called payatham paruppu in Tamil)
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 5 medium tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
  • 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
  • A generous pinch asafetida (hing or perungayam, optional)
  • A sprig of curry leaves
  • ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon black gram lentils (urad dal or ulutham paruppu, optional)
  • 2 tablespoon sambar powder (since sambar powders that are storebought can vary widely from each other and those that are homemade, it's a good idea to add a tablespoon first, check if you want more, and add the rest, a little at a time, if needed)
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  • Start out by cooking ¾ cup of mung lentils. This is easiest in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, but you can also do this on the stovetop. To cook on the stovetop, add ½ teaspoon of turmeric to the lentils, cover with 2 inches of water, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and continue cooking another 20 minutes or until the lentils are very tender and mushy.
  • Chop 5 medium green tomatoes into a dice of about half an inch.

  • Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and when they start to sputter, add 1 teaspoon of the blackgram or urad dal, if using, a pinch of asafetida, if using, and ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, if using. If you’re not using the last three ingredients, just skip ahead and add the curry leaves next, saute them for a few seconds, then add the green tomatoes.
  • Stir everything well to mix, then turn the heat to medium-low, cover the saucepan and let the tomatoes cook about 5-10 minutes until they’re soft.
  • Add the cooked lentils or dal along with any remaining cooking water, add 1 tablespoon of sambar powder and salt. Taste and add more sambar powder if needed -- I like about 2 tablespoon in mine, but storebought brands vary widely from each other and from homemade versions.
  • Mix everything well and let the dal come to a boil. Add water at any stage if it starts to look too thick. When you add water, always check to see if you need more salt.
  • Let the dal continue to boil on low heat for another five minutes, then turn off the heat and add the cilantro.

Nutrition

Calories: 86kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Potassium: 360mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 645IU | Vitamin C: 11.3mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1.8mg