Dal Tadka Recipe (Restaurant Style)

dal tadka garnished with cilantro and a topped with fried red chilli with some fried cumin and some red colored oil in a small brass bucket on a light brown jute mat.

4.94 from 173 votes

This restaurant style Dal Tadka recipe is of a smooth and creamy dal made with pigeon pea lentils (tur dal), onions, tomatoes, herbs and tempered with spices like cumin, garlic, red chillies, asafoetida and red chilli powder. The dhungar method gives this lentil preparation a smoky flavor. It is best served with steamed basmati rice or relished with roti or paratha.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: North Indian

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 213kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For cooking lentils

1 cup or (200 grams) tuvar dal (arhar dal, tur dal or split pigeon pea lentils) or ½ cup tuvar dal + ½ cup masoor dal (split red lentils)
1 to 2 green chilies or serrano peppers - chopped or slit lengthwise
½ cup onions - chopped
1 cup tomatoes - finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger - finely chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
½ teaspoon Garam Masala
1 pinch asafoetida (hing), optional
2.5 cups water - for pressure cooking
1 tablespoon light cream or low fat cream, optional
2 tablespoons coriander leaves - chopped, (cilantro)
salt as required

For tempering or tadka

3 tablespoon oil or 3 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 to 6 garlic cloves - finely chopped, small to medium-sized
2 to 3 dry red chilies - broken and seeds removed
1 generous pinch of asafoetida (hing), optional
1 teaspoon kasuri methi - crushed, (dry fenugreek leaves), optional
½ teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder or cayenne pepper or paprika

For garnish

1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves - chopped (cilantro)

For dhungar method

1 small piece of natural charcoal
¼ teaspoon oil or ghee (clarified butter)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cook lentils

Thoroughly rinse tuvar dal (tur dal) in water. Add them to a 3-litre stovetop pressure cooker.
You can also cook the lentils in a pot. Soak the lentils for an hour or two before you cook them in a pot adding water as needed.
If cooking in a pot, you could add about 3 to 3.5 cups of water.
Add the chopped onions, finely chopped tomatoes, chopped green chillies and finely chopped ginger.
Pour 2.5 cups of water into the pressure cooker.
Add turmeric powder and asafoetida (hing). Mix well.
Pressure cook the lentils on medium to medium-high heat for about 7 to 8 whistles (about 8 to 10 minutes), or until the lentils become soft and creamy.
Let the pressure drop naturally in the cooker and then only open the lid. Check the lentils to see if they have cooked thoroughly and softened.
Mash the cooked lentils with a wired whisk or with a spoon and set aside.
If the consistency looks thick, add about ½ to 1 cup water (depending on the thickness) to get a medium consistency. Mix again and on a low to medium-low heat simmer dal for 3 to 4 minutes.
Once the desired consistency is reached, add the light cream or low-fat cream (optional), garam masala powder, chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) and salt to taste. Turn off the the heat.
Mix well so that everything combines to an even consistency. Taste and adjust salt before adding tadka.

Smoke lentils using dhungar method (optional)

To get the smoky flavor of burnt charcoal like you would in a restaurant, you'll want to follow the dhungar method.
Using tongs, place a small piece of charcoal on a grill pan like shown in the photo below. Burn the charcoal until it becomes red hot.
Please be sure to use natural charcoal for this method, avoiding anything that has a flame accelerant added.
Note that this is an optional step - you can proceed directly to the tempering method.
Place the red hot charcoal in a small steel bowl. You can also use a halved hollow onion instead of the bowl.
Pour about ¼ teaspoon of oil or ghee on the charcoal. You will see fumes emanating as soon as you pour oil or ghee on the hot charcoal.
Place this bowl on the dal.
Cover the cooker or pot with a lid and let the dal get infused. Only smoke for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not keep for a long time, or you'll risk making the dal taste bitter.
Remove the bowl carefully with the help of tongs and cover the cooker with a lid. Set aside.

Make the tempering (tadka or chaunk)

Next, heat oil or ghee (clarified butter) in a small pan over low or medium-low heat.
First, add the cumin seeds and crackle them. The cumin should get fried and not be raw, but be careful not burn them.
Next add the dry red chilies, asafoetida, and finely chopped garlic. Let the garlic brown lightly and the red chilies change color. Do not burn the garlic.
Lastly, add the crushed kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and kashmiri red chili powder or cayenne pepper. Mix well and turn off the stove.

Make Dal Tadka

Pour entire tempering mixture along with the oil or ghee into the prepared dal.
You can either mix the dal with tempering, or serve the dal tadka with the tempering on top of it.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serving Suggestions

Serve Dal Tadka hot with steamed basmati rice or jeera rice (cumin rice).
You can also enjoy the dal with roti or paratha.

Video

Notes

Type of Lentils: You can make the recipe with any yellow dal (split lentils). I make it sometimes with Tuvar dal (split pigeon pea lentils) and Masoor dal (split & husked red lentils) and sometimes only with Tuvar dal. You can even add an equal mix of tuvar dal and moong dal.
Soaking Lentils: You can also soak the lentils for 30 to 40 minutes before cooking them.
Tomatoes: I have added tomatoes and it gives a nice tang. If you do not have tomatoes, then add ½ to 1 teaspoon of lemon juice when the lentils are cooked.
Tempering: You can temper or fry the spices and herbs in either ghee or oil. In the recipe I have used sunflower oil but ghee (clarified butter) also gives a good flavor. You can even use peanut oil or any neutral flavored oil.
Dhungar Method: You can easily skip the charcoal smoking method if you don't have charcoal. Another alternative to get that smoky flavor is to add smoked paprika instead of red chilli powder or cayenne pepper.
Consistency: The consistency of the cooked dal is neither thick nor thin but medium. But if you prefer you can opt for a slightly thick or thin dal consistency.
Soaking Lentils: You can also soak the lentils for 30 to 40 minutes before cooking them. This helps in cooking the lentils faster and a recommended step.
Omitting Asafoetida & Kasuri Methi: If you do not have asafoetida or kasuri methi, then skip adding these.

For cooking the lentils in a pot

Soak the lentils for about 1 to 2 hours. Drain and rinse then well in water.
In a deep pot, add 4 to 5 cups water added to the lentils. Add the rest of the ingredients mentioned in the recipe.
Cover and cook the lentils. If the water begins to froth and bubble, then remove the lid or cover it partly and continue to cook the lentils till they become soft and creamy.
If the water becomes less, then add some hot water.
Once the lentils are cooked (takes from 45 minutes to an hour or sometimes more (depends on the quality and age of the lentils). Then follow the recipe further.

Nutrition