Dal Tadka
Comforting yellow lentils finished with a sizzling ghee-cumin-garlic tempering.
Vegan
⚠ Contains: Dairy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
How this varies: "Dal tadka" typically uses toor dal (or a toor-masoor blend) with a garlic-forward tempering, while the related dhaba dish "dal fry" leans more on onion-tomato masala cooked into the dal itself; further south, tempering shifts to mustard seeds and curry leaves rather than cumin and garlic.
Ingredients
- 1 cup toor dal (or a mix of toor and masoor dal), rinsed
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 3 cups water
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 dried red chilies
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (for color)
- Cilantro, to garnish
Steps
- Simmer dal with turmeric and water until soft and mushy, 20-25 minutes, skimming any foam. Whisk smooth and season with salt.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pan, saute onion until browned, then tomato and chili powder, cook until soft and jammy. Stir this masala into the simmering dal.
- Just before serving, make a fresh tadka: heat ghee in a small pan until shimmering, add cumin seeds and hing, sizzle a few seconds, then add garlic and dried red chilies, fry until garlic is golden and chilies darken (watch closely, seconds not minutes).
- Pour the hot, sizzling tadka directly over the dal in the serving bowl — do not stir it in or cook it further, so it's still crackling. Garnish with cilantro, serve with rice or roti.