Dal Tadka
Feb 19, 2019, Updated Sep 02, 2022
Restaurant style Dal Tadka (lentils) tempered with ghee and spices! This dal has a smokey flavor which makes it all the more special!
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Lentils tempered with spices and ghee, this Dal Tadka is one of the most popular Indian dishes and also my personal favorite.
This recipe uses burnt charcoal for that smokey flavor which makes the dal even more special!
Whenever we would eat out in India (when I was little), we would always order 2 types of dal for the table – dal tadka and dal makhani.
Most Indians I know prefer eating Dal Makhani when they are eating out, simply because it’s not something that you make everyday. Dal tadka on the other hand is made with toor dal which has to be the most common dal in Indian kitchens!
Toor dal (or arhar dal) was made in my house everyday. So obviously when you go out, you don’t want to eat what you anyway eat everyday.
But my dad loved Dal Tadka and so we always ended up ordering it. Actually the version that was made in my house everyday was super simple, with just a tadka of garlic and ghee on top of boiled dal.
Dal Tadka on the other hand uses a lot of ingredients and spices, making it a special dish. So even thought the lentil was same, the overall taste was very different.
This restaurant style Dal Tadka is my absolute favorite. I think I have inherited this from my dad, I really love dal tadka over any other dal. Sarvesh on the other hand, being a true punjabi loves his dal makhani!
The literal translation of Dal Tadka is Dal=lentil and tadka=tempering. Tadka or chaunk (in hindi) is a term we often use in Indian cooking for the process of adding seasoning to a dish.
It mostly involves adding spices like cumin seeds, mustard seeds, garlic, chilies, curry leaves etc. to hot oil or ghee.
This Restaurant Style Dal Tadka
✓ tastes just like the dal tadka from your favorite restaurant
✓ has a smokey flavor which makes it more amazing!
✓ tastes amazing with plain rice or jeera rice
✓ bursting with some amazing flavors
Over the years, I have tried countless variations of dal tadka, both in India and then here in the US. Some people mix several types of lentils while other stick to only toor dal for the recipe.
Some make a tadka of onion only, while others go heavy on spices. As with most Indian recipes, there no right or wrong method or way here.
You make it in a way you like it. That’s always been my philosophy for cooking. After a lot of attempts, I have finally zeroed on my favorite version of dal tadka and I am really excited to be sharing this one with you guys.
How to Make the Best Dal Tadka
use fresh ingredients- yeah you always want to reach out for that store bough ginger-garlic paste but trust me, pound some fresh ginger and garlic in your mortar and pestle for this recipe and see the difference.
use ghee for cooking- if you are vegan then I understand that you would use oil for this recipe but if you are not vegan, please do use ghee for cooking the masala for the dal and also for the tempering.
Ghee really imparts so much flavor to the dal.
infuse smokey flavor to the dal through dhungar method- this is the real deal you guys! It just takes a simple dal from good to WOW! Seriously, I didn’t use to do it before but now I am hooked.
What is dhungar method you might ask? It’s the technique of infusing the flavors of burnt charcoal (smokey flavor) into a dish.
Piece of charcoal is heated on direct fire and then placed in a bowl which in then placed inside the dish. Then ghee or oil is poured over the hot charcoal, as the fumes begin to rise from the charcoal, it’s all enclosed with a lid.
The dish adsorbs the smokey flavor in that enclosed environment. The longer you close the lid for, the smokier the dish will become so remember to not over-do it.
I never go beyond 15 minutes. You can use the same method to impart smokey flavor to several other dishes like kadai paneer, panner tikka etc.
I hope you guys enjoy this dal tadka recipe, we sure did! Serve it with jeera rice for a perfect meal.
Method
1- To a pressure cooker add toor dal along with turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 cups water.
2- Pressure cook for 4 whistle on high heat then lower the heat and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. If using an Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 8 minutes with natural pressure release. Set it aside.
Meanwhile crush 4 large garlic cloves, 1-inch ginger and green chili in a mortar pestle and set it aside.
3- In a heavy bottom pan, heat ghee on medium heat. Once hot, add the cumin seeds, crushed coriander seeds and cloves. Saute few seconds until fragrant.
4- Then add onions, cook for around 3 to 4 minutes until they are soft and start changing color.
5- Add the crushed garlic-ginger-green chili. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until raw smell goes away.
6- Add the chopped tomatoes along with 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix. Cover and cook for 7 to 8 minutes until tomatoes are very soft and cooked.
7- Then add the coriander powder, garam masala, kashmiri red chili powder, red chili powder, cilantro and kasuri methi. Stir the spices with the masala for few 30 seconds.
8- Add the boiled dal to the pan and mix. I also added 1/2 cup water here as dal looked very thick to me.
9- Let the dal simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
10- For the tempering, heat 2 teaspoons ghee in a small pan. Once the ghee is hot, add 2 chopped garlic cloves. Also add hing and dried red chilies.
11- Cook for one minute until the garlic starts changing color. Add kashmiri red chili powder remove pan from heat.
12- Pour tempering over dal and mix.
This last step is optional but recommended.
13- For the dhungar method – place a steel bowl on top of a trivet placed inside the dal. Then heat a piece of charcoal over direct heat until its red hot.
14- Place hot charcoal in that steel bowl on top of the trivet. Pour melted ghee (around 1 tablespoon) on top of charcoal.
15- You will immediately see fumes coming out of charcoal.
16- Immediately close the pan with a lid. Let it remain like this for 5 to 10 minutes. After 5 to 10 minutes, remove lid and remove the bowl from dal.
The longer you keep the lid closed, the smokier dal will get, so don’t do more than 10 minutes.
Garnish dal tadka with more cilantro and serve!
If you’ve tried this Dal Tadka Recipe then don’t forget to rate the recipe! You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in 2014.
Dal Tadka
Ingredients
- 1 cup toor dal 200 grams, also known as arhar dal/split pigeon peas lentil
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1.5 teaspoon salt divided, adjust to taste
- 3.5 cups water divided
- 4 large garlic cloves divided
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 green chili
- 1.5 tablespoons ghee 22 ml, also known as clarified butter or use oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds crushed in mortar pestle
- 2 cloves
- 1 medium red onion 150 grams, chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
- 1/8 teaspoon red chili powder or adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi crushed, dried fenugreek leaves
Tempering/Tadka
- 2 teaspoons ghee 10 ml
- 2 large garlic cloves chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon hing also known as asafoetida
- 2 dried red chilies
- 1/4 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder optional
piece of charcoal & melted ghee, for dhungar method, optional
Instructions
- To a pressure cooker add toor dal along with turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 cups water.
- Pressure cook for 4 whistle on high heat then lower the heat and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. If using an Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 8 minutes with natural pressure release. Set it aside.
- Meanwhile crush 4 large garlic cloves, 1-inch ginger and green chili in a mortar pestle and set it aside.
- In a heavy bottom pan, heat ghee on medium heat. Once hot, add the cumin seeds, crushed coriander seeds and cloves. Saute for few seconds until fragrant.
- Then add onions, cook for around 3 to 4 minutes until they are soft and start changing color.
- Add the crushed garlic-ginger-green chili. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the raw smell goes away.
- Add the chopped tomatoes along with 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix. Cover and cook for 7 to 8 minutes until tomatoes are very soft and cooked.
- Then add the coriander powder, garam masala, kashmiri red chili powder, red chili powder, cilantro and kasuri methi. Stir the spices with the masala for few 30 seconds.
- Add the boiled dal to the pan and mix. I also added 1/2 cup water here as dal looked very thick to me. Let the dal simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
- For the tempering/tadka, heat 2 teaspoons ghee in a small pan. Once the ghee is hot, add 2 chopped garlic cloves. Also add hing and dried red chilies.
- Cook for one minute until the garlic starts changing color. Add kashmiri red chili powder remove pan from heat.
- Pour tempering over the dal and mix.
- This last step is optional but recommended.For the dhungar method – place a steel bowl on top of a trivet placed inside the dal. Then heat a piece of charcoal over direct heat until its red hot.
- Place hot charcoal in that steel bowl on top of the trivet. Pour melted ghee (around 1 tablespoon) on top of charcoal. You will immediately see fumes coming out of charcoal.
- Immediately close the pan with a lid. Let it remain like this for 5 to 10 minutes. After 5 to 10 minutes, remove lid and remove the bowl from dal.
- The longer you keep the lid closed, the smokier dal will get, so don't do more than 10 minutes.
- Garnish dal tadka with more cilantro and serve!
Video
Notes
- Use oil in place of ghee to make this vegan.
- Skip hing (asafoetida) to make this gluten-free or use gluten-free hing.
- You may use a combination of lentils to make dal tadka. Commonly used- toor dal + moong dal or toor dal + masoor dal (red lentils).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely delicious!
Thank you, I’ve made this now for the last 2 years and it’s perfect ! I let the onions cook a bit longer, add do double tardka!
Cannot wait to try this, looks amazing, thanks!
Could you alternatively cook this in a wok after pressure cooking the dal?
yes sure
I absolutely love this recipe. I make it every fortnight. However, I double the quantity of all spices. This is my rule of thumb for all Indian recipes online.
I haven’t got the things to try the dhungar method at the end yet but I really want to.
This was really good. I doubled it and and used the pressure cooker. I may have got the water to lentil measurement off, it was pretty thick. But a great recipe!!
This is one of my favorite healthy meal preps for the week. I am always excited to make this one, and the charcoal technique is never anything I’ve seen before. I’ve been trying to find other uses for it!
Also, I made a bunch for a backpacking trip and dehydrated it over the summer. It was easily he best thing we ate during our trip and was still super delicious once we rehydrated it. Thanks for the recipe!
it’s a favourite! 🙌
Hi Manali, I just wanted to thank you for this excellent recipe. I started making it in Australia where I grew up and now I make it here in France for me and my fiancé. It’s never let me down, it tastes so authentic! I generally double the recipe and freeze the leftovers for quick comfort food. The weather is getting colder, and nothing sounds better to me than a big bowl of this delicious dal. Bon appétit!
Thanks Kate for the lovely feedback! appreciate it 🙂
Not sure what wrong I did, because of the coriander seeds I couldn’t finish the curry in the end and had to throw it away.
maybe you didn’t crush them? you can always skip them if you are not a fan of coriander seeds
Manali, Thank you for sharing your excellent recipe. Everyone in my family loves it.
Thank you Sam , glad to know!
It was -15 here in the Frozen North this morning so my wife and I were really looking forward to some flavourful, warming, comfort food for supper. Miss Manali’s Dal Tadka was a perfect choice. The wonderful, full bodied aroma and taste from the dhungar method was well worth the extra few steps. Smoked the lentils for 10 minutes but only five would have been sufficient. Served with paneer tikka masala and rice. Thank you, Miss Manali, for another winning recipe!
This recipe is so tasty and well-explained !! Probably one of, if not, the best tadhka dal recipe around !
One day I’ll try the dhungar method, meanwhile I added a little chipotle chili powder to the mix to add a smoky flavor. Of course it’s not the same, but it gave an idea of how delicious it might be with the dhungar method. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes with us !!
Welcome Marlene!
So delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Tried this today.This came out well. Thanks Manali.
This is actually better than most Indian restaurants. So good. Thanks Manali
glad to hear Kevin!
I don’t know what to say. I followed this recipe to the letter, and without doubt this is the best dal tadka recipe outside of India. My pressure cooker doesn’t whistle but turning the heat to high wait for the steam to release, then 12 mins on medium did the trick. Whatever you so don’t substitute ingredients. Massive kudos Manali, you did it again.
so thrilled to hear that Craig! Thanks for the feedback!
I absolutely LOVED your receipe. I usually shy away from making Indian complex foods because there are so many flavors to think about and one tiny mistake can change the dish. But took a leap of faith and tried your receipe…. OMG I loved it. Everyone enjoyed it. This receipe is for keeps.
Thanks for the feedback Gurmeet!
I don’t have a pressure cooker. How long will it take in a pot on the stove.
soak the lentils for 4-5 hours, then it should cook in 30-45 minutes or so
This may be a silly question but if I do it this way, should I soak the lentils in 3.5 cups of water, and just add the rest of the ingredients to that after they soak, or should I dump out the water I’ve soaked them in? If I dump out, should I still use the full 3.5 cups for the recipe?
you will drain the water in which lentils were soaked. Then cook the lentils in more fresh water until they are cooked on stove-top. Yes it might take that much water to cook through, maybe even more since water evaporates on stove-top compared to a pressure cooker.
the recipe is amazing full of flavor and taste what brings the final touch to it is the pan fried garlic with the chilli amazing aroma and taste!!! I’ll definitely make this recipe again thank you:)
Love it love it love it! I’ve become totally addicted to this version of dal tadka, thank you for all the details. Such a humble thing, toor dal, but this way, wow!
I understand your dad :))
🙂 glad you enjoyed it!
Manali, I loved this. The flavor has more complexity than other dals I have made. I didn’t have charcoal lying around to do the dhungar method, but maybe in the summer when we’re grilling I will!
Easy for a first timer, and came out great! Only change was that I used a dash of bottled smoke flavoring (mesquite) in place of the charcoal/ghee method.
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it out later this week.
Does it keep well? Can it be made ahead of a dinner party and stored in the fridge for a day or two or freezer? Any suggestions welcomed.
it will be fine for 2 days, I would then do the tadka at the time of serving, so do everything minus the tadka and store for 2 days in the fridge if you want. Re-heat on stove, add water as needed and then do the tadka before serving