Masoor tadka dal is a delicious Indian lentil curry made with red lentils. It's easy to make, flavorful, and healthy as well as naturally vegan and gluten free!
Dal (also spelled dhal or daal) is one of the most versatile, healthy, filling, and delicious meals. Dal translates to lentil, but when referred to in the context of food it means a spiced Indian lentil soup.
Dal can be made thick or thin, and with any kind of lentil. It can be made with cream and butter, or with a simple tempering of spices. No matter how how it's made, it's sure to turn out tasty.
Masoor dal is the same thing as red lentils, which are popular and easy to find at many grocery stores in the US. They're super cheap and cook quickly making them a great choice for a simple weeknight meal.
This recipe is naturally gluten free, high in fiber and protein, low in fat and calories, and packed with flavor. You'll find yourself coming back for bowl after bowl of dal. Serve with some basmati rice and if you'd like a veggie filled curry or some simple curry roasted vegetables for a complete meal.
You can feel good knowing that with each delicious serving of masoor dal you are getting important nutrients like folate, iron, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, manganese, and zinc.
What is a tadka?
A tadka is a cooking method where spices and other aromatics are cooked briefly in hot oil to bring out their best flavor. It then gets added to a sabzi (vegetable curry dish) or dal (lentil curry) to infuse that recipe with its flavor.
It's a brilliant way to create delicious dal, as it allows for the varied cooking times of different kinds of lentils. Even from batch to batch of lentils the cooking time can vary, as fresher dried lentils will cook faster than old lentils that have been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years.
Cooking the lentils separately allows them to get to the perfect level of tender before adding the flavorings. It gives a chance for the tomatoes to cook without inhibiting the cooking of the lentils (only add tomatoes after the lentils are tender or they may never fully cook)! And keeps the onions from getting too soft, which gives a bit of texture to the final soup.
Having this texture from the tadka is particularly important with masoor dal which will pretty much completely break down when cooking.
Cooking the lentils:
Before cooking any lentils, be sure to sort through them for any debris or stones. These days the mechanical sorting is quite good, but I'll still find the occasional small stone no matter what brand I buy, and no one wants to bite into one!
I easily do this by measuring out the lentils, then pouring them onto a white dinner plate in portions so I can quickly visually go through them. Once inspected, I move them into a fine mesh strainer and once I've gone through all the lentils I rinse them very thoroughly.
Rinse the lentils until the water runs off clear, and while you could just run lots of water over the lentils in a strainer, I prefer to rinse, then put the lentils in a pot and add water to cover before swishing around with my hands. The water will turn cloudy, then drain out that water and repeat adding water to the pot and swishing around until the water runs clear.
Once the lentils are rinsed, add them back to the pot with fresh water. Bring the water to a boil, and if you see any white foam at the top of the pot, skim off what you can.
Then turn the water down to a simmer, partially cover, and set a timer. When the lentils are done they'll be tender but still have some texture. They'll cook another 5 minutes once the tadka is added, so try not to over do it in this first round of cooking!
While the lentils are cooking, make the tadka.
As explained before, the tadka is where alllll the flavor comes in to the dal.
Heat some oil, fry aromatics like onion, garlic, ginger, and chiles until they're soft. Then add spices: curry powder, mustard seed, coriander, and cumin. Add plenty of salt, as salt is what blooms the flavor on our tastebuds.
As we're mainly using ground spices which burn easily, we just briefly let them sizzle along with the onion mixture before adding tomato.
Cook the tomatoes until the tadka is thick and saucy.
Add the tadka to the cooked lentils.
Let the two simmer on low together for just a few minutes to help the flavors meld. Taste the dal and add more salt to taste. If the dish tastes flat, or like it's missing something, chances are it just needs more salt.
Serve hot with cilantro to garnish and a side of basmati rice.
It's also great served with some Indian bread such as homemade naan or chapati (pictured). I roasted up some cauliflower with curry powder to make this a complete meal.
If you enjoy dal, check out some of my other dal recipes, and some other Indian recipes while you're at it!
If you make this masoor dal tadka, leave a comment below and rate the recipe on the recipe card. And please share your photos with me on Instagram, tag @thecuriouschickpea and #thecuriouschickpea. I love seeing your recreations!
WANT MORE DELICIOUS VEGAN RECIPES? SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL NEWSLETTER AND FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, AND PINTEREST!
Masoor Dal Tadka - Indian Red Lentil Dal
Masoor dal tadka is a delicious Indian lentil curry made with red lentils. It's easy to make, naturally vegan and gluten free, and full of flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry masoor dal (aka red lentils), sorted and well rinsed
- 8 cups water
- 1 tablespoon oil (coconut oil or neutral flavored)
- 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 green chiles, minced (can be seeded for less heat, use more or less to taste)
- 1 tablespoon Indian curry powder
- 1 teaspoon whole mustard seed
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes, or 1 ½ cups chopped fresh tomatoes
- cilantro, for garnish
- basmati rice, to serve
Instructions
- Combine the lentils and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer. Skim off any foam that collects on top. Cook, partially covered, until the lentils are tender, usually 15-20 minutes.
- While the lentils are cooking, make the tadka. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the oil and onion, garlic, ginger, chiles, and a pinch of salt. Fry until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the spices: curry powder, mustard, coriander, and cumin, along with the salt. Stir to combine and cook for about 60 seconds, then add the tomatoes. Cook about 7 minutes to cook down the tomatoes if canned, or until the tomatoes are soft and saucy if fresh.
- Add the tadka to the cooked lentils, and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes to infuse with flavor.
- Serve garnished with cilantro and with basmati rice.
Notes
Cook time can vary for lentils depending on how fresh they are. Very fresh lentils take less time to cook, whereas if they've been sitting around for a couple of years they may take longer.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 263Total Fat: 5gUnsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 514mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 8gSugar: 4gProtein: 14g
I'm actually really disappointed. This was my first go at dal and I followed the recipe to a tee. It was a watery runny mess and the flavour was lacking big time.
I can't understand why you would be disappointed if you made it correctly, but using a little common sense works wonders. Cooking involves 'tasting' every so often and should always be an adventure. It sounds like you are beginning to branch out of your comfort zone, because if you were an experienced cook, you would have known to tweak it.
If you ARE a beginner, then count this as a learning process and figure out what went wrong. I made this and it was incredible! Just because a recipe is 'out there' doesn't mean it's going to be perfect for every one, every time.. be nice, work it out and add something constructive as a comment next time!
@vivian, I completely agree! I just made this last night and I was shocked at how delicious it was!! I have no idea how anyone can be disappointed with such a tasty meal.
Hi. Tried your masoor dal tadka recipe today. I have cooked only dhall (not with masoor though) sambar till now and this my first using massor dal and cooking tadka too.
It turned out well! Used 1.5 cups of dhall with 6 cups water and I 'lost' some water too as I scooped up the foam as the dhall was boiling. It turned out just the right amount of water. Added more salt, as you suggested if felt something was missing. That brought out the flavours really well.
The only addition I did was toast finely cut shallots, urud dhall, cummin and curry leaves in ghee (clarified butter) after cooking the tadka as per your recipe. And stirring it in nicely into the already nice tadka. Just a habit to add even more fragrance to it.
Thank you for making my first experience with cooking massoor dhall and tadka great! We love the taste of it and will certainly cook this again.
cheers
Thank you for the recipe! I browsed the internet for a while looking for a good dal recipe and yours looked like the most legit! I found the comments useful to slightly edit the recipe, I added 1 tsp of cumin seeds and 1 tsp of garam masala to the tadka and I used only 5 cups of water for the lentils which was perfect for a thick, soupy texture. It ended up being a huge success in my family especially with the roasted cauliflower like you suggested. Thank you!
Awesome!
I have experimented with several dahl recipies and this is the best yet.
A few tweeks, if I may...
1. Added a vegetable stock cube to the lentils.
2. Added a teaspoon of concentrated lemon juice for that classic tanginess!
Really like the author's writing style. Explains everything clearly without assuming that the reader is familiar with specific terms.
Made this for the first time today. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. It’s was absolutely delicious. And to top it of we had a lovely chai tea made with condensed milk afterwards.
@Andrew,
When you say “curry powder” what specifically do you mean? What type of curry powder? Garam masala?
Hi Lauren! Curry powder is a catch all term to refer to spice blends that typically include: turmeric, coriander, cumin, chili powder, and then a bunch of other spices depending on what part of the Indian subcontinent it comes from and the person or brand that's making it. Any will work in this recipe! It's not the same thing as garam masala, which is more or less agreed on what spices and what proportions go into that.
I use a madras curry powder at home. It's something I bought at an Indian grocery store, but you can use whatever you have access to or make your own! I hope that helps 🙂
Can you replace the curry powder with anything else? Or leave it out altogether?
I’ve had trouble finding red lentils anywhere because of the pandemic. Would green lentils work fine for this recipe? What would I have to tweak?
Sure thing! This cooking method works for any lentil and the beauty is the seasoning is cooked separately! Green lentils, brown lentils, yellow split peas, or other split lentils work here. The cooking time will be longer for most other types of lentils, and not all will not break down to the same extent as masoor dal (split red lentils). You might prefer it with less water because of this, so start with 5 or 6 cups water, you can always add more to thin at any point!
May I know how long can you keep the cooked dal in the fridge? Thanks!
I usually try to eat lentil or bean dishes within about a week (sometimes stretching it to 10 days), but they freeze really well if you need to store for longer!
Winter in Cape Town pairs perfectly with this delicious authentic Dal!! So glad I found your recipe. Had all the ingredients and followed your method to the T! Thanks for sharing ?
Great recipe thanks! My first time making Dal. I could only find green lentils and they didn't cook down much so I blended half of them for a more soup texture. The tadka was so good and aromatic I almost hated to add anything to it. I will definitely be making this again and look forward to making it with red lentils next time.
I, too, was worried about the amount of water listed. I did cook the lentils in the full 8 cups listed but then I drained most of it - probably 6 cups - off. I like a thicker dal and figured I could add it back in slowly if I needed to. This worked perfectly for me and the flavors only get better as it sits. Thanks !
Hi Eva. I have been looking for a tasty dhal recipe for a while. What better place to start than from a namesake. I will let you know how I get on.
Eva, hello! This recipe tastes fabulous. However, it does not have enough liquid. I think I was not supposed to drain the lentils, which I did. Can I add water to fix?
Hi Stacy, yes you do not drain the lentils (unless you want a more dry dal), however you can add water back in! If you are concerned that will dilute the flavor you can add vegetable broth instead.
Thanks so much! I did add water and it worked. Just a gorgeous recipe. My family loved it as well - first time eating dal for my kids. I'm going to try many more recipes from your site.
V delicious.
Might just add a cup less water next time as the consistency may have been a bit too runny for my liking!
Otherwise, utterly GORGEOUS.
Hey Eva!
Your recipe is an absolute dream! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing, and I really enjoyed reading all the information prior to the recipe! Its become a weekly staple and such a good recipe to start adding in little things to experiment! (i love stirring in some spinach and kale towards the end).
Amazing recipe! Followed the ingredients and recipe except I drained the lentils because I wanted a thicker dal. My family loved it!
I’ve had trouble finding red lentils anywhere because of the pandemic. Would green lentils work fine for this recipe? What would I have to tweak?
Sure, you can use another lentil to make this recipe. Green lentils won't break down as much as red lentils (and you may find you want to cook them in less water because of that, I'd use 6 cups, you can always add more if needed) but the flavor will still be good!
This was definitely too much water and not enough flavor. I think 5 or 6 cups of water would've been sufficient. I had to add the rest of my lentils in (maybe another cup or 2) and 2 potatoes to thicken it. I stopped measuring spices and just started adding to taste. The measured amount were hardly noticeable when added to the lentils with its extra water. I nearly added another can of diced tomatoes but opted against it—I think either way would've been fine. Don't think i'll be using this recipe again.
I pretty much never comment but I just had to say how much i enjoyed this! It was the first time I've ever used red lentils. I used jalapenos, Rani hot curry powder, and a bit less water and it's the perfect flavor. First time I've ever cooked dal and I can safely say I don't need to try any other recipes!