Easy Zucchini Dal

Top down view of zucchini dal in bowl with spoon.

5 from 13 votes

A tasty and easy zucchini dal, flavored with tomatoes and curry powder. Eat the dal with rice and/or roti for a simple, delicious meal. A vegan, gluten-free, nut-free and soy-free recipe.

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Main Course/Dal

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 99kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Equipment

Large saucepan

Ingredients

1 cup toor dal (also called tuvar dal, arhar dal or split pigeon peas)
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
10-12 curry leaves
2 green chili peppers
2 medium tomatoes (finely diced)
2 medium large zucchini (diced into ½-inch chunks)
1 tablespoon curry powder (or sambar powder)
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons cilantro (finely chopped)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cook the dal with turmeric and enough water until really soft and mushy. This is easily done in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, but you can also do it on the stovetop. Whisk the cooked dal so it becomes creamy.
Heat oil. Add the mustard seeds and wait until they sputter and crackle. Add the curry leaves and green chili peppers. Saute for a few seconds. Then add the tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes until tomatoes are soft. They don't have to turn mushy.
Add the diced zucchini and saute for five minutes until the zucchini is slightly tender.
Add the dal. Don't add water at this point unless the dal is really dry. The zucchini will express a lot of liquid.
Bring the dal to a boil, cover, and cook for five minutes. Add more water at this point if dal is too thick.
Stir in curry powder. Add salt to taste. Sprinkle on the cilantro and turn off heat.
Serve hot.

Notes

To make the dal oil-free, sputter the mustard seeds and sauté curry leaves and green peppers in a dry pan. Then add tomatoes and proceed.
Substitute the toor dal with moong dal or masoor dal if that's what you have.

Nutrition