New blog means new pictures, but same amazing foolproof recipe! This is one of the most popular recipes from my old blog. My mom’s classic yellow tadka dal. It is mildly spiced red split lentils with cumin, garlic onion, turmeric, tomatoes and dried red chilies. It is also my favorite dish in the world!
If it were up to me, I could eat dal every single day of the week! It is packed with protein and fiber and keeps you full for hours. I like cooking Masoor dal because it cooks in just 20 minutes! Finish it off with a simple tadka and you are done!
What is a tadka?
If you’ve been to an Indian restaurant, you’ve probably seen tarka or tadka dal on the menu. A tadka is a tempering of spices. A few tablespoons of oil absorbs the flavor of cumin, red chilies, onion and garlic. We then add this to the dish at the end to enhance the flavor. It is so good! So without further ado here’s the recipe!
Mom’s Yellow Tadka Dal
Ingredients
- 1 cup Red split lentils masoor dal
- 2 small-med tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
For the Tadka
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2-3 dried red chillies broken in half
- 1 clove garlic chopped finely
- 1/4 small-med onion chopped
- 1 handful chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Rinse 1 cup of lentils until the water becomes clear, about 2-3 rinses.
- Fill a pot with water to cover the lentils by about 1 inch. Add 2 chopped tomatoes, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp salt.
- Bring this to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes until the lentils are soft and slightly blended together.
- As it comes to a boil, remove the foam that may form at the top with a spoon so that it does not overflow. Add water as necessary if it thickens too quickly and stir often to prevent the lentils from catching at the bottom of the pan.
Tadka
- In a small pan, heat 1-2 tbsp of mild oil. I use sunflower oil.
- Add 1 tsp cumin and bring to high heat.
- Once cumin sputters, add the remaining tadka ingredients: garlic, red chilies, onion.
- Stir fry for a couple minutes until the onions become translucent.
- Add the tadka to the dal. make sure to deglaze the pan with a little bit of the dal to get every last bit of flavor.
- Simmer the dal for another couple minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
- Adjust salt to taste and garnish with cilantro!
Notes
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