Description
A comforting and flavorful Indian lentil dish, Tarka Dal combines slow-simmered toor dal with a fragrant, spiced ghee tempering. This traditional recipe yields a hearty, mildly spiced dal perfect for serving alongside roti or jeera pulao, bringing a taste of classic Indian home cooking to your table.
Ingredients
Scale
Dal Ingredients
- 250g toor dal
- 1 tsp asafoetida
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- ½ cm piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tomato (about 80g), roughly chopped
- Salt, to taste
- 1 litre water
Tarka (Tempering) Ingredients
- 3 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 mild dried red chillies
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 60g onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (cilantro)
To Serve
- Roti or jeera pulao
Instructions
- Simmer the Dal: Combine toor dal, asafoetida, turmeric, roughly chopped garlic and ginger, chopped tomato, salt, and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 1 hour, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
- Mash the Dal: Remove from heat, cover the pan, and let the dal cool slightly. Use a potato masher or hand blender to partially mash the dal to a chunky consistency, ensuring it is not overly smooth.
- Prepare the Tarka (Tempering): Heat ghee in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and dried red chillies. As they begin to sizzle, add finely chopped garlic and ginger and fry for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Sauté the Onions and Spices: Add finely chopped onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Stir in Kashmiri chilli powder thoroughly to coat the mixture.
- Combine Dal and Tarka: Remove half of the prepared tarka to a small bowl for garnish. Add the cooked dal and 100ml water to the remaining tarka in the pan and gently simmer over low heat for 2 minutes.
- Garnish and Serve: Turn off the heat. Garnish the dal with the reserved tarka and sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander. Serve hot with roti or jeera pulao.
Notes
- Stir the dal often during simmering to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Adjust the amount of water during simmering for your preferred dal consistency.
- Kashmiri chilli powder imparts a mild heat and rich red color; substitute with regular chilli powder if unavailable, adjusting quantity to taste.
- The tempering (tarka) can be made spicier by adding green chillies or adjusting the dried red chillies.
- This dal can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated gently with a splash of water to soften.
