Toor dal or Tuvar dal or arhar dal is cooked in many Indian households every week.These yellow lentils or pigeon pea lentils are are a base of many Indian recipes as it has a creamy texture when boiled and mashed. For many of us, it is comfort food for many of us and used in numerous ways. This popular indian lentil dish is also a regular feature in most restaurants.
It is full of protein and helps make an easy dinner on a weeknight.Learn to make this signature dish of Indian cuisine which goes perfectly well with jeera rice, or Indian flatbread like naan or tandoori roti.
Lentils are cheap and yet a powerhouse of protein. If you have never cooked Indian cuisine at home, yellow dal tadka and basmati rice is a perfect meal to start with. . You can make different recipes from it from snacks like air fried chana dal, breakfast like dal pakwan , curries like dal fry and even sweets like moong dal halwa.
Equipment
- Instant pot / pressure cooker
- Masher
- Large bowl
Ingredients
- arhar dal/ tuvar dal/ pigeon peas
- turmeric powder
- salt
- water
- ghee or oil if vegan
- cumin seeds
- heeng or asafoetida
- fresh curry leaves
- onions
- tomatoes
- coriander powder
- water
Refer to recipe card for details.
Step by step instructions
Soaking:
Soak the arhar dal for 2-3 hours. Alternatively you can soak it for 30 mins in hot water. Discard the water before usage.
Boiling lentils for toor dal recipe
1: In an instant pot or pressure cooker, add the soaked lentils with double the amount of water. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt.
2: Pressure cook it on medium high for 10 minutes or for 2 whistles in a stovetop pressure cooker.
3: Mash the cooked dal with a masher.
4: Add more water to this dal mixture. Keep it aside. You can also freeze this mixture for later at this stage.
Tempering:
1: Heat ghee or oil if vegan. Add cumin seeds, ginger,garlic ,heeng or asafoetida. Let it splutter.
2: Add curry leaves, let them wilt and mix well.
3: Add chopped onions and some salt.
4: Let it cook until onions are pink.
5: Add chopped tomatoes to it.
6: Add spices and let it cook.
7: Mix well and let the rawness disappear.
8: Add the boiled lentils and mix well.
Serve tuvar dal tadka with hot rice or roti as per your choice.
Related easy dal recipes
toor dal recipe
Equipment
- instant pot / pressure cooker
- large mixing bowl
- Masher
Ingredients
- 1 cup arhar dal/ tuvar dal/ split pigeon peas
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- 2 tbsp. oil or ghee
- 8-10 curry leaves
- 4 cups water use half for boiling, use rest later
Spices
- 1 tbsp. cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp. ginger finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon heeng orasafoetida
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder use half of this quantity it while boiling the lentils
- ½ tbsp. coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder or as per taste
- salt as per taste
Instructions
- Soak the lentil/fal for 2-3 hours. Alternatively you can soak it for 30 mins in hot water. Discard the water before usage.
- Heat ghee or oil if vegan. Add cumin seeds, fresh ginger, fresh garlic,curry leaves and heeng/asafoetida. Let it splutter.
- Add chopped onions and some salt. Let it cook until onions are pink.
- Add chopped tomatoes to it.Add spices and let it cook.
- Add the boiled lentils with water and mix well.
- Serve tuvar dal tadka with rice or roti as per your choice.
Storage
Store it in an air-tight container for 2-3 days. You can also freeze this recipe for later.
Conclusion: Tuvar dal tadka is a yummy treat full of proteins.
Leave a Reply