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!
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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.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 263Total Fat: 5gUnsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 514mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 8gSugar: 4gProtein: 14g
Thank you so much for this recipe! It's so easy to follow, I just sit down and check what I need to do next.
So, please, for the comment, bear in mind that Russian, we're a really direct people.
The way I had to clean the lentil was insane. I had to rinse half a kilo (again, I'm Russian, if you want to conquer European market, it has to be in grams and Celsius, we google all that memorize it in the end, but it's annoying and we go straight to the Jamie Oliver's site instead) of rice and lentils to get it clear in a small sieve. Jesus, the patience it takes. Thank god I was drinking wine.
The tendency of the European market is the same as the US healthy one: the extreme opposite of fast food and the usual potato/meat cuisine (depends on the country though). The Czech one where I lived for 6 years has the most vegan and raw food one (!) in European.
I added a bit of smoked paprika, smoked salt and za'atar, turned out to be real f*cking nice.
Best of luck to you getting subscribers, you're worth it. I am gonna follow you for sure. My bf is gonna come back home for sure and lose his sh*t over his recipe.
Спасибо! Всего тебе самого хорошего.
Made as written, hand crushed spices in mortar. Absolutely delicious!! I love soup so the consistency was perfect for me. I added a bit of rice on top. Thank you 😊
Great recipe, thanks! What I love about Dal is that you can tweak it almost endlessly to your liking. I added salt and turmeric during the simmer, and also drained the lentils a little after cooking as I like it thicker and a bit more concentrated flavour-wise. I also opted for half a TBSP of curry powder and half a TBSP of garam masala rather than a flat out TBSP of curry powder. Also, a garnish of toasted cumin seeds, nigella/onion seeds and crispy fried onion.
I forgot to mention, in my opinion a pinch of Asfoetida at the end goes a long way too 😎
lol. I strained the lentils and just added them to the tomatoes... Was I supposed to leave in the lentil liquid? haha
That’s ok, you can add water or vegetable broth to it until you get your desired consistency.
I lived in India for many years & ate dal all the time. I lived with an Indian family, who said I made the best dal they had ever tasted! My son also loved my dal & now makes delicious dal himself. I serve it with basmati rice AND paratha or nan. As I am an Italian Jew, I like garlic A LOT! I adore garlic nan & garlic in my roti/paratha.
I am now a vegan & like to try out vegan Italian, Indian, Thai,and Mexican recipes.
FYI, I live in Ecuador & used to live in Mexico, as well as India,Israel, the US (California, Oregon & most recently, in New Mexico & grew up in Rome.
It's a common opinion found everywhere when people talk about chillies that it's the seeds which are hot and if you don't want your food to be so hot you should remove the seeds. this is not in fact the case. The seeds do not contain casaicin, the hot ingredient of chillies, and removing them or leaving them will not affect the heat. The active ingredient comes from the pith and ribs of the chili.
Thank you Eva for your lovely recipe. I was searching for a dal recipe and yours is nice and clear and easy to make. I've prepared all the ingredients and will cook up for dinner tonight. Can't wait. I really appreciate that you provide a print option on your recipes as well. Will be back to check out more recipes. Thanks 🙂
The first time I made this it called for 1 can of full fat coconut milk at the end. Not in this recipe but picture shows a light colored creamy dish!
Hi Grace, I haven't changed this recipe so I'm guessing you tried a different recipe on my site. Perhaps the Tamarind Red Lentils?
I made this tonight, following the recipe as written. I found the texture and thickness to be to my liking. The flavor was wonderful, but not as intense as I typically like, so I will see how it is tomorrow, then decide if I need to add more spice next time. I will definitely make this again, maybe tweaking it a bit.
What is the serving size? 1 cup?
Just made this and eaten 2 bowls of it. It was yummy and get the feeling it will be even yummier tomorrow!
Followed the recipe exactly - I have a set of US measuring cups which is extremely helpful 😊The thinner consistency was perfect - exactly what I was after.
Thank you for the recipe. It was easy to follow and I’m very pleased with the result. Will definitely make more once I’ve finished this batch.
this was really delicious! used red chili peppers and used 4 cups of water to the two cups lentils and it was MORE than enough. soupy and not too thick. would definitely not use 8 cups of water.
I made this yesterday and it is wonderful! Can it be frozen without getting mushy?
I found this recipe about two years ago and has been my go to daal recipe since then. I love it!! I bought mustard seeds that I ONLY use for this recipe and have no regrets! 😀
I've also tried it with brown/black lentils and although it doesn't taste as good as with masoor daal, it still tastes great! Always a hit! 😀
p.s. I'll try adding a bay leaf next time.
What a great recipe! I used the 8 cups in a La Cruiset style pot. It seemed like too much water but after cooking, the lentils thickened and I ended up with a fairly thick dal. This is the first tadka I’ve ever made but It certainly won’t be the last. Both my husband and I really liked how the flavor of the spices was more “available” than with a “regular” dal using similar ingredients.
I love this recipe and I think it’s my hubbie’s favorite Indian dish I make.
I used the 8 cups of water. Although it looked watery while cooking, it turned out perfect and I even like fairly thick dahls! Thanks again for a wonderful dish!
This a GREAT recipe! Thank you. The first time I made it, 8 cups of water worked well but since then it’s way too much.
We are in the middle of our monsoon season (we’re high desert the rest of the time—VERY dry). It’s raining 2-3 times as much as any monsoon season I can remember. Everything’s completely soaked! I share this because it might explain why some of us need 8 cups of water and others need less. My experience: Pre-monsoon; 8 cups…now(major league monsoon); 6 cups is almost too much.
Thanks again for a delightful recipe.
I'm excited to try this recipe!
I have canned lentils that I would like to use up which is 420g (assuming this is including the water inside). Would one or two cans be suffice? 420 grams or 840 grams?
Tried this recipe today!
I added some lime juice on the serving...ummmhhh that was yummy!
Thank you for the recipe!
Oh, wow, thank you. This is one of my favourite Indian dishes and we live a very long way from any restaurants.
I made this with a biryani and some other sides, this recipe is amazing. I love it and it is so easy. I thought it would be complicated!
I am going to make this so much now,the kids kove it, the husband loves it.
Thank you!