Daals are immensely popular in Indian cooking.  A daal (spelled either as daal or dal) is made with lentils and is similar enough to a thick stew, though it’s hardly ever eaten with a spoon.  It’s always scooped up with chapatis or ladled over rice.   This recipe for daal is wonderfully simple and yet surprisingly tasty.  However, there is no set recipe for Tadka Dal and you can find a variety of tadka daal recipes online.   Each region of India has its own version of tadka daal.  In North India, they may add spinach to the daal, while in other parts of India they may use up to three different types of lentils. Whatever way you make it, this Indian stew is a staple of any Indian household and can be whipped up in only thirty minutes.

This recipe uses two types of daal: Masoor Daal, a tiny red lentil…

and Channa Daal, a yellow lentil.

I’ve made this recipe in the past using only Masoor daal but when I came across a recipe that used two types of daals I had to give it a try. It’s now become my preferred version of tadka daal.

The best place to find lentils is at your local Indian store, but they are also available at Whole Foods in the bulk section, though you’ll pay three times the price.  In an American market, Masoor Daal is probably labeled as Red Lentils, and Channa Daal as Yellow Lentils, though I would take a picture along with you as there are different types of yellow lentils and they all taste very different.

Mixed Tadka Daal Recipe

The main change I made was to use Channa daal instead of another type of daal the original recipe calls for, Moong daal (also yellow) which I didn’t have on hand.  I also changed the proportions and simplified some of the spices so it would be more accessible to those who do not have a pantry full of pre-made Indian spice mixes.

Ingredients

 STEP ONE: WASH THE DAAL

1. Pour the lentils into a pot or pressure cooker, cover with water and whisk vigorously with your hand to wash the lentils. Strain out the water and repeat until the water runs clear, about 3 or 4 passes.

STEP TWO: BOIL THE DAAL

Cover the daal with 4 cups of water, secure the lid and place on high heat.  Let the pressure cooker whistle three times, then release the pressure by placing the pressure cooker under cold running water till the steam releases, then you can remove the lid.

STEP THREE: MAKE THE TADKA

it should look like this:

STEP FOUR: ADD THE TADKA TO THE DAAL

Pour the finished tadka into the pot of cooked lentils.  Bring the daal back to a soft boil do a taste test.  Add more salt if needed.

STEP FIVE: ADD CORIANDER

Grab a handful of fresh coriander leaves (an essential garnish in most Indian cooking), remove the stems, give it a quick chop and add it to the daal.

You can also add 1 tablespoon of butter which adds richness, this is optional.

Stir the daal and it’s ready to serve.

You can serve the daal along with a side of salad.  We love our daal on rice or with chapatis.  Most meals use daal as a side dish to the main entree, but I only do that for dinner parties.

Got leftovers? Find out how to freshen up the flavor.