Dal Tadka

Rich and poor, festival fare or frugal meal, dal is the great leveler of Indian food and is a dish that's common across the extreme diversity of the country.

Denise D'silva Sankhé

Updated February 09, 2023

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Why It Works

Pouring tadka (spices tempered in clarified butter) over the cooked lentils adds incredible flavor and aroma to the finished dish.

If there is one dish that's common through the extreme diversity of Indian cuisine, it's dal (lentils), which is also spelled "daal." Rich and poor, festival fare or frugal meal, it's the great leveler of Indian food.

In India, the word daal refers to the lentil as well as the finished dish. There are about five or six commonly used daals and countless dishes that we create out of them.

In fact, so popular is daal in Indian cuisine that the term daal-chaval (lentils and rice) is commonly used as a synonym for food.

For most of vegetarian India, it is a vital source of protein. And a dish that finds its way to the table every day, sometimes for all three meals. We also love to cook our meats with lentils. And some delicious, robust dishes emerge from this wonderful pairing.

Its mild, understated nature makes daal a blank canvas of sorts, for the various regions of India to embellish in their own unique way. In fact, there are so many ways to make daal; so many combinations and cultural variations that it could take you a good part of the year to eat your way through them all, without a hint of routine setting in.

A simple starting point to the world of daals is the daal tadka.

To give a dish a tadka is simply to temper it with ghee (clarified butter) and spices. When the spices enter the hot ghee, they infuse their rich flavors into it. This heady, perfumed oil is then poured over the daal where it spits and sizzles quite dramatically as it permeates the calm yellow concoction. The heady aroma and the wild hiss and sputter of the tadka is kitchen theater at its best. And the main act, you will soon discover is worthy of many encores.

This recipe was originally published as part of the column, "Beyond Curry."

October 2011

Recipe Details

Dal Tadka Recipe

Active 20 mins

Total 20 mins

Serves 2 servings

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

For the Daal:

1 cup tuvar daal (yellow lentils/pigeon peas)
1 1/2 teaspoons ghee (clarified butter)
Pinch asafoetida
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 1/2 cups water
Salt

For the Tadka:

1 1/2 tablespoons ghee
3 Mundu chiles (these are small, round chiles from South India, alternatively any dry red chile will do)
1 teaspoon whole black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted and ground cumin seed
6 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
1/4 teaspoon red chile powder

Directions

For the Daal: Wash and drain tuvar daal in a large fine mesh strainer. Heat ghee in pressure cooker over high heat until shimmering. Add asafoetida, turmeric, and washed daal. Cook, stirring frequently till the ghee coats the daal, about 20 seconds.
Add water and salt to taste. Close pressure cooker, increase heat to high, and heat until pressure cooker is pressurized to high pressure. Reduce heat to low and cook ten minutes. Remove from heat and allow pressure to dissipate.
Open pressure cooker and break up daal with a whisk. Set aside while you make the tadka.
For the Tadka: Heat ghee in a skillet over high heat until lightly smoking. Reduce heat to medium.
Add mundu chiles, mustard seeds, and whole cumin seed (stand away from skillet as the seeds pop). Wait until seeds sizzle, about 10 seconds, then add curry leaves and stir. Cook until the curry leaves sizzle, about 10 seconds longer, then add asafoetida, red chile and roasted cumin powder. Stir vigorously and immediately transfer all contents to the daal and lightly stir. Do not mix thoroughly. Some of the ghee should float on top. Serve immediately with white rice, Indian bread (roti), or as an accompaniment to any Indian meal.

Special Equipment

Pressure cooker, skillet.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
249	Calories
14g	Fat
25g	Carbs
7g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories	249
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g	18%
Saturated Fat 8g	41%
Cholesterol 33mg	11%
Sodium 812mg	35%
Total Carbohydrate 25g	9%
Dietary Fiber 8g	28%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 1mg	3%
Calcium 101mg	8%
Iron 5mg	27%
Potassium 499mg	11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.