🍲 Dal tadka
Dal tadka is soft-cooked yellow lentils finished with a tadka — a sizzling tempering of ghee, cumin, garlic and spices poured over just before serving. The lentils are tender and soupy, with onion and tomato for body and turmeric for colour, while the tempering adds a fragrant, toasty top note. It is eaten with rice or roti across India.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 g yellow lentils (toor or moong), rinsed
- 800 ml water
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 dried red chilli, salt, coriander
Method
- Simmer the lentils with water, turmeric, onion and tomato for 25–30 minutes until soft, then whisk until smooth and season with salt.
- Just before serving, heat the ghee in a small pan.
- Add the cumin seeds, garlic and dried chilli and fry until the garlic turns golden.
- Pour the sizzling tadka over the dal, scatter coriander and serve.
How to make it lighter
- The tadka is where the fat is: 1 tbsp ghee for four servings keeps the aroma; each extra tablespoon is about 120 kcal.
- Keep the dal thinner with more water for a larger, lighter bowl.
- Serve it with a big portion of salad and a small portion of rice.
History
Tempering spices in hot fat, called tadka or chhaunk, is an old technique used across Indian cooking; dal tadka is one of its most familiar everyday forms in North Indian homes and restaurants.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →