Masoor Dal
Red lentils simmered with turmeric until soft, finished with a sizzling tempering of garlic, cumin and chilli.
Photograph credit: spiced red lentil dal by Gail · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr
Storing and Planning Ahead
Keeps in the fridge for 4 days. Freezes well for up to 3 months. Add water when reheating.
How to Make Masoor Dal
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Put the lentils, water and turmeric in a pan. Bring to the boil, skim off the foam and lower the heat.
-
Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils are soft and the dal is thick. Stir in the salt.
-
Heat the oil in a small pan. Add the cumin seeds for 20 seconds, then the garlic and chillies for 1 minute until the garlic is golden.
-
Pour the sizzling mixture over the dal, stir in the coriander and serve.
Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.
Worth Knowing
- Rinse the lentils and skim any foam from the surface.
- Heat the oil properly before the garlic goes in.
- Do not let the garlic go dark, or it turns bitter.
- Loosen the dal with hot water if it thickens as it stands.
Some Background
The first sign it is ready is the smell of the tadka: garlic and cumin hitting hot oil and filling the room with a toasted, nutty scent. Pour it over the dal while it still sizzles.
Red lentils need no soaking. They collapse in about 20 minutes into a soft, golden dal, as long as they are covered with plenty of water and stirred now and then. Rinse them first and skim off any foam that rises to the top.
The dal itself is plain: lentils, water, turmeric and salt. All the flavour that makes it special lives in the tadka. Heat the oil before the garlic goes in. Cold oil lets the garlic stew instead of crisp.
Stir the tadka into the dal at the last moment and serve at once. The contrast between soft lentils and sharp, crisp seasoning is the point. A squeeze of lemon at the table lifts the flavour. Leftover dal thickens in the fridge, so add a splash of water when you reheat it.
What to Put Next to It
Steamed basmati rice · Chapati · Cucumber raita · Pickle
Changing the Recipe
- Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More Indian cooking and dinner ideas from Weekly Delight.
Lentil Dal
Red lentils simmered for 25 minutes with turmeric and ginger, finished with a sizzling garlic and cumin tarka. Four…
Cabbage Poriyal
A South Indian dry stir-fry of shredded cabbage with mustard seeds, curry leaves, urad dal and grated coconut.
Slow Cooker Dal
Yellow split lentils slow cooked on low for 6 hours with onion, tomato, ginger and turmeric, finished with a…
Tarka Dal
Split red lentils cooked until soft, then finished with a sizzling tarka of garlic, cumin and chili in hot oil. Four…
Beans Poriyal
A South Indian dry stir-fry of chopped green beans with mustard seeds, curry leaves and grated coconut.
Tamarind Rice
Cooked rice tossed with a tangy tamarind paste, mustard seeds, peanuts, chilli and curry leaves.