The dish you know and love! You're going to love this one, I guarantee it.
This dish is a staple in most Indian homes, and for good reason: it's easy, delicious and packed with protein. It's also fast and simple to make with pantry staples—you can have it on the table...
Ingredients
- 1cupToor (Arhar) Dal
- 1 1/2cupWater
- 3/4tbspSalt
- 1tspRed Chilli Powder
- 1tspTurmeric
- 1/8tspAsafoetida (Hing)
For Tempering
- 2tbspGhee
- 1tspCumin Seeds
- 1Dry Red Chilli (broken)
- 3Garlic Cloves (finely chopped)
- 2Green Chillies (finely chopped)
- 1/2Onion (finely chopped)
- 1/4cupTomato (ground/pureed)
- 1tspKashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1tbspLemon Juice
How to make Arhar (Toor) Dal Fry
Wash and soak Arhar (Toor) Dal for 10 minutes.
Place a pressure cooker on high flame. Add the soaked dal. Mix in turmeric, red chilli powder and salt. Pour water in the pressure cooker and stir.
Bring it to a boil (do not cover with lid).
Once boiled, shut the lid completely. Allow to cook till 1 whistle of the pressure cooker. Turn off the flame and let the steam be released on its own.
Once the steam is released completely, open the lid and keep the boiled dal aside.
Meanwhile chop the onions, garlic and green chillies and keep aside for tempering.
For Tempering
Heat ghee in a deep pan on medium flame. Add a pinch of asafoetida (hing), dry red chilli and cumin seeds. Let them crackle.
Add the chopped garlic and saute for a minute.
Add the chopped onions and saute for 2-3 minutes till onions turn translucent.
Add in the tomato and kashmiri red chilli powder. Mix well and cook for another minute till ghee comes on the surface.
You can add a little water here in case your boiled dal is a bit thick. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Add the boiled dal and lemon juice to the pan. Stir gently. Bring to a boil and then let the dal simmer for 3-4 minutes on low flame or till the dal is cooked.. To check the doneness, mash a few lentils between your thumb and fore-finger. If the dal is mushy, it is cooked.
Serve hot with rice or roti and with a side of Jeera-Aloo.
Tips & Tricks
To make this dish vegan, replace ghee with a cooking oil of your choice.
Soaking the lentils in advance reduces the cooking time. Use fresher lentils as aged lentils take longer to cook.
Adjust the consistency of the dal by adjusting the required amount of water. It should neither be too runny nor too thick.
Store any left-overs in an air-tight container and refrigerate and consume within 1 day. The dal will thicken after cooling. To reheat, pour the dal in a pot, add a little water and bring to a boil.
Arhar (Toor) Dal is known as split pigeon peas in English.
Leena Kohli
(@leenakohli)
Elevate your confidence through the magic of home cooking with my easy-to-follow recipes 👩🍳✨