Moong Dal Tadka (Yellow Moong Dal Recipe)

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Moong Dal Tadka (Yellow Moong Dal Recipe)

Moong Dal Recipe is a simple, healthy and protein-rich dish made with split and hulled yellow moong dal. This version shows how to make classic Moong Dal Tadka, where cooked lentils are finished with a flavorful tempering of spices in ghee or oil. It is easy to prepare and pairs well with rice or roti.

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, North Indian

Diet: Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 185kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For Cooking Yellow Moong Dal

½ cup moong dal (split and hulled mung lentils)
⅓ cup onions - finely chopped
½ cup tomatoes - chopped
1 inch ginger - finely chopped or minced
¼ teaspoon red chili powder or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
⅓ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
1.5 cups water - for pressure cooking
salt as required

For Tempering (Tadka)

2 to 3 tablespoons ghee or oil or butter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 to 5 garlic cloves - small to medium-sized, crushed lightly
¼ or ½ teaspoon garam masala
¼ teaspoon red chilli powder or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 or 2 green chilli - slit or ½ teaspoon chopped
1 pinch asafoetida (hing), optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cooking Lentils

First rinse the moong lentils a couple of times in water. Drain the water and set the lentils aside.
In a 3 litre stove-top pressure cooker take the rinsed lentils, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes and finely chopped ginger. Also add the turmeric powder, red chili powder and water to the cooker. Mix well.
Pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles on medium flame till the moong lentils are softened well. Once the pressure settles down, remove the lid and stir the dal.
If the dal looks thick, then add some water and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add salt. Mix very well and keep aside. Check the taste and if required you can add more salt.

Making Yellow Moong Dal Recipe

In a small pan, heat oil or ghee or butter. First fry the cumin seeds.
Next add the garlic and green chili and fry for some seconds. Don't brown the garlic. Switch off the flame.
Now add the garam masala powder, red chili powder and asafoetida. Switching off the flame earlier ensures that the spice powders don't get burned.
Quickly stir and immediately pour the tempering mixture in the dal.
Stir the dal and serve hot moong dal with steamed rice or chapatis.
The moong dal tadka tastes better as it is and there is no need to garnish or add coriander leaves to it.
But if you want you can always garnish with some coriander leaves. For a slight tang you can also squeeze some lemon juice.

Video

Notes

Soaking: You can soak the lentils for 20 to 30 minutes and this will speed up the cooking time.
Green Chillies: You can use serrano peppers instead of the Indian green chillies. You can even replace the green chillies with dried red chillies.
Consistency: You can have a thick or medium or thin consistency of the dal by adding less water or more water later.
Asafoetida: If you do not have asafoetida, skip it. For a gluten-free moong dal skip adding asafoetida.
Spicing: You can decrease or increase the herbs & spices like red chilli powder, green chillies, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds according to your preferences. But do not increase the amount of turmeric powder.
To cook moong lentils in a pot or pan:
- Soak the lentils in water for about 30 to 40 minutes. Then drain them and add in a pot.
- Add about 2 cups of water. Cover and let the lentils cook with the onions, tomatoes, herbs and spices until the lentils have softened well.
- If the mung lentils begin to froth, then remove the scum and continue to cook without a lid or the lid partly covered.
- You can also add a few drops of oil to reduce the frothing.

Note that the approximate nutrition info is for 1 serving of this yellow moong dal tadka recipe.

Nutrition