The Best Dal Recipe

Front view of Indian yellow dal in karahi.

5 from 27 votes

Learn how to make a simple but spectacular basic Indian dal with under 10 ingredients. This beginner-friendly recipe can be served with rice or roti for a delicious and nutritious weeknight meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Main Course/Dal

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 169kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Equipment

Instant Pot or pressure cooker
Dutch oven or saucepan with lid or karahi

Ingredients

1 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas/arhar dal/tuvar dal)
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon oil (Use any oil of your choice, including avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil or coconut oil.)
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoon cilantro
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

¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing)
2 sprigs curry leaves

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cook lentils

Place the lentils with turmeric and water in a pot, pressure cooker or Instant Pot liner. See FAQs above for more on how to do this.
Cook the dal until very creamy. Use a whisk to lightly beat the dal until it's creamy.

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.
Sauté 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.

Add the lentils

Add the cooked dal to the saucepan and mix well. Add water to thin out the lentils - I add about a cup. Bring the dal to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for five minutes. This gives the flavors a chance to meld.
Turn off the heat, then add in the lemon juice and garnish with more cilantro before serving.

Notes

Add water as needed to thin out the dal. A thicker consistency is better with rotis, a thinner consistency works well with rice.
Don't walk away during the tempering or tadka stage. The oil can quickly burn the spices. Pour in the cooked lentils as soon as the mustard begins to sputter.

How to store and reheat dal

Store leftover dal in the fridge for up to three days. You can also freeze the dal for up to three months. To reheat, place the dal in a saucepan. Dal tends to thicken on standing so add some water, and heat through.

Nutrition