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Dal in karahi with cilantro or coriander leaves and a side of jeera rice.
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5 from 17 votes

The Best Dal Recipe

Learn how to make a simple but spectacular basic Indian dal recipe with under 10 ingredients. This dish makes a delicious weeknight meal, is loaded with good nutrition, and it is also gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free and vegan.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Main Course/Dal
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 169kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas/arhar dal/tuvar dal/thuvaram paruppu. Whisk the cooked lentils until creamy)
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric (haldi/halad/manjal podi)
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil (Use any oil of your choice, including avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil or coconut oil. Don't use olive oil because it cannot withstand the high temperature of the tadka)
  • 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai/sarso/mohri/kadugu)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera/jeeragam)
  • 2 tablespoon cilantro ((dhaniya/kothimbir/kothamalli. Finely chopped, plus more for garnish)
  • 1-2 green chili peppers (like jalapeno or serrano. Cut into thin strips. Deseed for less heat)
  • 2 medium tomatoes (finely diced)
  • Salt to taste
  • Juice of ½ lemon

Optional ingredients

Instructions

  • Cook the lentils until tender. See the FAQs for how to do this in an Instant Pot, a pressure cooker or a pan on the stovetop.
  • Make the tempering or "tadka". Heat the oil in a wide saucepan, dutch oven or karahi, then add the mustard and cumin seeds and asafetida, if using. As soon as the mustard seeds sputter, add the cilantro and optional curry leaves and the green chili peppers.
  • Add the tomatoes. Saute the cilantro and curry leaves for a minute, then stir in the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes until they have expressed most of their juices and are very soft.
  • Stir in the lentils. Add the cooked dal (whisk it first to break down the lentils) to the saucepan and mix it well. Add water to thin out the lentils--I add about a cup. You can make the dal as thick or as thin as you like. A thicker consistency is better with rotis, a thinner consistency works well with rice.
  • Bring to a boil, cover and cook for five minutes. This gives the flavors a chance to meld.
  • Add lemon juice. Turn off the heat, then add in the lemon juice and garnish with more cilantro, if you like.

Notes

  • Leftovers will keep in the fridge and are best eaten within three days. You can also freeze the dal in a freezer safe container for up to three months.
  • The lentils tend to thicken on standing so add water before reheating and add more salt if needed. Frozen dal can be thawed on the countertop for an hour or two before reheating, or thaw overnight in the fridge.
  • This dal is already very creamy, but if you want to add no more than 2 tablespoons of coconut milk at the end of cooking for even more creaminess.
  • You can add vegetables like spinach or zucchini to this recipe. Stir in 3 cups of chopped spinach or 2 medium zucchini, chopped, along with the tomatoes.

Nutrition

Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Potassium: 168mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 533IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2mg