You think it’s impossible to make a Dal like Indian restaurants without hunting far and wide for exotic spices? Think again! Full of flavour, economical and nutritious, this Indian Dahl lentil curry is outrageously delicious. And it’s easy!
Dal, dahl, daal or dhal!
OK, so we might never agree how to spell it, but I think we can all agree that Dahl is one of the most fabulous transformations of the humble lentil!
Dal is probably the most essential staple dish in Indian cuisine. And it’s one of the most magical and economical foods in the whole world. A handful of lentils, a few spices, and just a bit of TLC transforms into a pot of deliciousness that’s nutritious and makes your tastebuds dance.
About this Dal
There are countless variations of Dal all across India. Every household has their favourite, different regions use varying methods and spices, sometimes it’s served as a meal, sometimes as a side.
This dal is a common variation of yellow dal found in northern India called dal tadka (aka dal tarka) that is the most common version served at Indian restaurants here in Australia. “Tadka” refers to a garnish of spices tempered in hot oil that is poured over the cooked dal at the last moment to add a deliciously nutty aroma and flavour bump to the Dal. The tadka is completely optional, as the dal in this recipe is still full of flavour on its own.
KEY DAL INGREDIENTS
Best lentils for Dal– This recipe calls for Channa Dal which is a type of yellow lentils which provides an ideal texture for this Dahl. I was astonished to discover it’s sold at Coles supermarket (international section). Yellow split peas is a terrific substitution though the cook times do differ (see recipe notes).
Other lentils can be used as well – see notes for directions and notes on other lentil types.
Dal Spices– Dal is made with far less spices than most Indian curries! This recipe calls for a simple combination of cumin, garam masala and turmeric. Garam masala is a spice mix found in supermarkets nowadays – it’s like a more potent curry powder.
Curry Leaves– Whether fresh or dried, they really do add that extra something-something to the Dal! They’re sold in the fresh herbs section at supermarkets and in the dried herbs and spices section.
Tadka Spices– As mentioned above, the hot oil spices is optional though if making this for company I would highly recommend it, if even for the dramatic moment when the sizzling oil hits the Dahl (see the video!).
The Tadka is made with cumin seeds, black mustard seeds and dried red chillies. You will likely need to find an Indian or other ethnic grocery stores to find black mustard seeds but do not worry if you can’t find them. The dominant flavour in the Tadka is cumin seeds. I wouldn’t even worry if you don’t have dried chillies.
There is a reason why Dal is the single most made dish all across India.
1.4 billion Indians can’t be wrong. Right? 😂 – Nagi x
PS Try slopping it up with Flatbread. Yesssss!!!!
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Dal (Indian Lentil Curry)
Ingredients
Dal
- 2 tbsp / 30 g ghee , or 1 tbsp oil + 1 tbsp/15g butter (Note 1)
- 2 green cayenne chillies , deseeded and cut into chunks (optional) (Note 2)
- 1 medium onion , finely chopped (brown or yellow)
- 6 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger , finely chopped (1.5cm / 3/5")
- 8 fresh curry leaves , or 6 dried (Note 3)
- 1 tomato , chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 cup dried chana dal , yellow split peas or other yellow lentils (Note 4 for other lentils)
- 4 cups / 1 litre water
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/8 tsp garam marsala
- 3/4 tsp salt
Tadka (optional):
- 1 1/2 tbsp / 20g ghee , or half each butter + oil (Note 1)
- 1 eschalot or 1/4 small onion , halved lengthways and sliced (Note 5)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds (optional)
- 3 dried chillies , broken in half, seeds removed (optional)
To serve
- Fresh coriander/cilantro sprigs (optional)
- Steamed basmati rice
Instructions
- Soak Lentils: Rinse lentils and leave to soak in plenty of water for 1 hour. Drain in colander.
- Heat ghee/oil in a heavy based saucepan over high heat. Add green chillies and fry for a minute until starting to blister.
- Add onions and fry until softened.
- Lower heat to medium, add garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Cook for 1 minute until garlic starts to turn golden and smells amazing.
- Add tomatoes and cumin, cook until tomatoes start to break down and thicken to a paste - about 2 minutes.
- Add lentils, water, tumeric and salt. Stir, bring to simmer, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour. Stir two or three times during the hour.
- Remove lid and simmer gently for 30 minutes to thicken, stirring every now and then. The dal is ready when it has a consistency like porridge - some lentils should be intact but some have broken down to thicken the sauce.
- Stir through garam masala at the end. Adjust salt if desired.
- Pour over Tadka, if using, and stir through.
- Serve Dal over rice, garnished with a sprig of coriander if desired.
Tadka - Sizzling Spices (optional)
- Heat ghee in a small pan over medium heat until hot but not smoking.
- Add cumin and mustard seeds, stir until cumin is slightly golden.
- Then add chillies and cook for 20 seconds, then add eschallots and cook until tinged with gold. Don't let the spices burn!
- Immediately pour into Dahl.
Recipe Notes:
* Fat levels - You'll miss some of the luxurious richness if you cut down on fat but you can reduce slightly if desired.
* Dal will thicken after cooking. Stop the cooking just before what you think is the ideal consistency, and it will be just right by the time you serve. If reheating the next day, add some water to loosen the dal.
* Dal is FILLING!!! This recipe feeds 3 very generously, or 4 normal servings.
* Be really careful making the tadka, as it's easy to burn the spices. It is better to have oil that's not hot enough and then turn up the heat, than oil that is too hot to start with. 7. Recipe Source: This recipe is another RecipeTin Family effort. We referenced a number of authentic sources, distilling the best bits into our recipe to achieve the closest possible replica of the Dahl we love from Indian restaurants. Indian celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor's dal tadka was one source, as was a recipe we found from Rick Stein and his travels across India. A few Youtube videos from home cooks in India also helped us get the tadka technique down (after burning the spices and smoking ourselves out of the kitchen a couple of times - read the notes and learn from us!) We hope you enjoy this dal as much as we do. 8. Nutrition per serving, dal only, assuming 4 servings.
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
He thought all his Christmas’ had come at once when a box of groceries tipped over in the car….until he realised it was just filled with vegetables!!
Is there a substitute for the curry leaves? I couldn’t find them.
Some cooks use a combination of basil leaves and lime zest to replicate both the herbal and citrus notes in curry leaves. You can use the zest of a single lime to replace 8 curry leaves. Use the same amount of basil that your recipe indicates for curry leaves.
Hi CM – are you able to find the dried ones? I find they really do add an extra something that you just can’t replicate – N x
Hi Anika, I’m not Nagi but I’ve used this recipe with a few different types of pulses and lentils with great success 🙂
Hi Nagi. I have a stack of green lentils here at home. Do you think I can substitute the Chana dal with them? What do you think?
Absolutely delicious 😋
Thanks so much!
I’ve been looking for a good solid dal recipe for a long time. I cooked this today, ate it with brown rice and just cleaned my plate. Thankyou, it’s incredibly delicious and even great for those of us with sad chilli-fearing palates! Lovely warm glowing spice and a deep, savoury comforting flavour.
What awesome feedback Sophia, thanks so much!
Love your recipes!!! Your writing style and of course Dozer!!!! Have been looking for a Dhal recipe that does NOT use red lentils!!!! Any chance you could assist me with making this in pressure cooker? Just bought the Tefal Cook4Me…. and LOVING IT (and clearly still learning). Cheers Maz
Hi Maz, thanks so much for the great feedback, I’m not sure about doing this in the pressure cooker as you’d need to start on the stove, transfer to a pressure cooker then back to a stove to reduce and thicken slightly – it wouldn’t be worth the hassle!
Just found your recipe need to go shopping. Will get back to you with my findings.
I am so glad I found this recipe! I had a daal that was prepackaged from the store and I really wanted to recreate it. My husband and I have very little money, so we eat a lot of beans, lentils, and rice. My husband doesn’t particularly like lentils so I’m always looking for new recipes to spice up our simple meals. Finding the ingredients wasn’t hard for this since we grow a lot of herbs and veggies in our garden. I was surprised that I even had the dried chilies from the last pepper season! Thank you so much for sharing this with me. We will be opening a missionary soon in Honduras (my husband’s home country) and I’m sure the local people will LOVE this as well. Thank you very much! God bless you.
You’re so welcome Ally!
What’s the canadAn name for these chillies please or is there a slubstitute.
Hi Nagi,
This is a late comment as I am having fun looking at some old recipes. I find that curry leaves freeze well so I keep them in a ziplock bag for when ever they are needed. Convenient and reduces waste. Same for kaffir lime leaves
I do the same and it’s so easy, especially as I have to buy those items in large bags (all that’s available). I also peel ginger and freeze then when I need it just grate the desired amount.
Nagi, help!!! I made this last night with yellow split peas, according to your instructions ~ soaking and all,
and even after hours & hours of cooking, the lentils were still hard. I’ve had this happen with red lentils before
but this is my first experience cooking with yellow split peas. Any advice? With the red lentils, I salvaged them
the next day in the slow cooker & will try that here, but any tips you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
It tastes DELICIOUS, it’s just still too crunchy. ARGH! GRR!!! MEPS!
Thanks as ever & big love to Dozer.
Hi Fiona – that’s really REALLY odd. I have never heard of yellow split peas still being hard after hours and hours of cooking! What the???? How did it come out? Did you manage to salvage it??
If your split peas are really old this can happen. Try buying in a place with plenty of turnover, so they haven’t been sitting on a shelf for years.
I read somewhere not to add salt until lentils or other pulses have softened. Maybe?
This happened to me! I used yellow split peas and followed the instructions exactly, except for adding salt. Even after cooking for 4 hours they are too hard to eat.