ns lentils and tadka is the Punjabi word for tempering. This process is used to fry whole spices before adding to the actual dish. So dal tadka is essentially a savoury dish of lentils cooked with tempered spice combination. It generally has a mix of two or three lentils and eaten in lunch or dinner with rice or any kind of Indian breads. To get the silky and smooth texture of the dal, you should soak the lentils in water for a few hours before starting to cook. It is a heavy dish that contains lots of protein and fills your stomach. The traditional recipe of dal tadka is spicy because of the amount of spices and red chillies but if you want your dish to be a little mild use fewer chillies. Now it is time to learn this authentic Punjabi recipe – dal tadka.
INGREDIENTS:
- 50 gm moong dal (green gram lentils)
- 25 gm masoor dal (split red lentils)
- 25 gm tuvar dal (split pea lentils)
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- 1 chopped tomato
- 2 to 3 green chillies
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (sarson)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- One pinch of asafeotida
- 5-6 crushed cloves garlic
- 2 to 3 whole dried red chillies
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- Handful of coriander leaves (optional)
- 1.5 tablespoon fresh cream (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Wash the lentils and keep it soaked in water for 2 hours
- Now pressure cook or boil the soaked lentils along with slit green chillies, turmeric powder, a little salt, and water
- Once the dal is properly cooked and soft keep it aside
- Now in a kadai, pour ghee and for tempering add mustard,cumin seeds, asafeotida
- Once it starts to crackle add red chillies, crushed garlic, pinch of turmeric powder, salt and fry for some time
- Now add the chopped tomatoes and give a good mix
- Finally add the boiled dal in the tempering/tadka, sprinkle garam masala, then pour 1 cup water and boil for 5 more minutes
- Now pour it in your serving bowl and garnish with fresh cream and chopped coriander leaves
- Tips: 1)If you want you can use kasuri methi when you are adding garam masala. 2) If you do not time to soak the lentils for long time you should boil it for more time or bring more whistles while you pressure cooking
