Simple Tadka Daal – Split Lentils Curry

Simple Tadka Daal – Split Lentils Curry Recipe with step by step photos and easy to follow instructions:

Tadka Daal also known as “Yellow Daal” is one of the most common daal dish prepared in Punjabi homes. It is simple, easy and very quick to make. Whenever there is a time when I am running short of time, Tadka Daal is my go to recipe. Daal simply means “a mixture of legumes” and Tadka is chopped onion and garlic fried in ghee (clarified butter) or oil to temper the daal. There are many different types of daals in Indian cuisine but nothing beats the simplicity of Tadka Daal. Tadka Daal can be served with Jeera Chawal (Cumin Rice), plain boiled rice, Roti, Tandoori Roti or Naan.

Tadka Daal is, generally, the first curry dish introduced to young children in Indian families. It is also, in many cases, the first curry dish prepared by girls when they learn to cook. One cannot go wrong with this dish.

You can mix any types of split lentils or legumes  such as Red Lentils, Yellow Splitted Moong daal,  Splitted Channa daal, Toovar or Toor (Arhar) daal or Urad daal to make Tadka Daal. I personally take a larger portion of red lentils and; split moong daal and split peas in a smaller portion. I use split peas to give daal a creamy look and smoother texture. If I don’t have split peas on hand, I use channa daal (splitted and husked grams or brown chickpeas) instead.

I also prefer to use yellow split moong daal with husk. It gives the Tadka Daal a very authentic taste. You can actually taste the moong in the daal which I find is just not there when I use the yellow split moong daal without husk. You can try making Tadka Daal with both types of split moong daals and keep what suits to your taste.

Tadka (tempering) is the most important step of this dish. Tempering the daal with the onion and garlic fried in the ghee or oil takes the Tadka Daal to next level. Just imagine the soft fluffy rice smothered with creamy Tadka Daal with tiny bites of sweet fried onion & garlic and nutty aroma of ghee … will you go out to eat?

Here is the recipe for simple yet delicious Takda Daal. Hope you will enjoy it and share your experience with me.

How to make Simple Tadka Daal:

1. Clean the daals before washing. Sometimes there are small pieces of stones in daals. Put all daals in a bowl and wash thoroughly with warm water 3-4 times. Rub the daals with hands under running water and dump the water after each wash. This process will remove all the dirt and excess starch from daals. Add warm water to the bowl to soak the daals. Add plenty of water because daals will expand when soaked.
   
2. Drain the soaked daals. You can drain the water completely and add fresh water for cooking or keep the daals in the same water for cooking. I remove some water from the daals and add some fresh water to cook the daal.
   
3. Put the soaked daals with water and spices in a large saucepan. At this point, you can add a teaspoon of butter to reduce the foaming. Cook on high heat until daal comes to full boil. Stir once and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook the daal stirring occasionally. While daal is cooking, if it becomes too thick, add more water in smaller quantity. It is easy to thin down the daal if it is too thick but not so easy to make it thicker if daal is too runny. Some people add a boiled mashed potato to thicken the daal. I never had to do this but it is an option if you are faced with runny daal.
4. Prepare the tadka or tempering for the daal. Add chopped onion and garlic to a small pan.
5. Saute onion and garlic until slightly brown. You can add cumin seeds and/or finely chopped tomatoes to tadka as well. I prefer to keep it simple. Tadka Daal has very delicate flavor. I try not to overpower it by using too many spices or herbs.
   
6. Add the tadka to the cooked daal. Add chopped green chili and gently mix it in the daal. Garnish with some chopped fresh coriander and enjoy it. You can serve Tadka Daal as soup with some crusty bread. Add some fresh salad to complete the meal.
   
   
   Simple Tadka Daal - Split Lentils Curry

    

   

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   Prep time

   10

   Cook time

   25

   Total time

   35

    

   A simple and smooth mixture of lentils and legumes that is deliciously tempered with sautéed onion and garlic.

   Author: Raj Brar

   Recipe type: Main - Vegetarian

   Cuisine: Indian

   Serves: 4-5

   Ingredients

   • 1 cup red lentils
   • ½ cup split moong daal (with or without husk)
   • ¼ cup split peas
   • 4 cups water and more as required
   • 1 tsp salt or to taste
   • 2 dry red whole chilies
   • ¼ tsp red chili powder
   • 1 tsp turmeric powder ½ tsp (2 ml) coriander powder
   • 1 tsp butter
   • 3 tbsp olive oil or ghee (clarified butter)
   • 1 small onion, finely chopped
   • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
   • 1 small green chili, finely chopped
   • 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

   Instructions

   1. Clean all daals to remove any debris.
   2. Thoroughly wash and soak daals in plenty of warm water for 1 hour. Drain the water after one hour.
   3. In a large heavy saucepan, add soaked daals, water, salt, dry red chilies (break into 2-3 pieces), red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and butter.
   4. Bring it boil on high heat. Stir and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and let is simmer until daals have softened, about 20 minutes; stirring occasionally. Add more water in small quantity, if required. The consistency of daal should be slightly thicker than soup.
   5. Meanwhile, preheat a small saucepan on medium-high heat. Add oil. Carefully add chopped onions and garlic. Cook until the onion and garlic are slightly brown in color. Add it to the cooked daal. Add chopped green chili and mix well.
   6. Remove daal from the heat and garnish with chopped coriander.
   7. Serve hot with Jeera Chawal (Cumin Rice), Roti, Tandoori Roti or Naan.

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