Dal tadka lives or dies on two things: cooking the lentils until they collapse, and pouring the tadka over at the table while it is still spitting. A watery dal with a tired tempering is a different dish altogether.
Oily toor dal is coated in a little oil to keep it from spoiling. Rinse it in two or three changes of warm water and the coating lifts, which is also why it froths less in the pan.
Ingredients
- 200g (1 cup) Fudco Toor Dal (Oily) 500g
- 3/4 tsp Fudco Rajapuri Haldi Powder 300g
- 3 tbsp KTC Pure Butter Ghee 500g
- 1 tsp TRS Cumin Whole 100g
- 2 Fudco Whole Stemless Red Chilli Dandicut 100g, broken in half
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 green chilli, slit
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- Juice of half a lemon and a handful of coriander
Method
- Rinse the dal in warm water three times, rubbing it between your palms, until the water runs clear. Cover with fresh water and soak for 30 minutes.
- Drain and tip into a pan with 750ml water, the turmeric and half a teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil, skim off the froth, then simmer with the lid half on for 35 to 40 minutes. In a pressure cooker, four whistles then ten minutes off the heat.
- The dal is ready when a lentil crushes to a paste against the side of the pan with no grit in it. Whisk it briskly for a few seconds to break the lentils down, then loosen with hot water to the thickness of single cream.
- Heat the ghee in a small pan over a medium flame. Add the cumin and the broken chillies and wait for the seeds to darken a shade and smell toasted, about 20 seconds.
- Add the garlic and fry to pale gold, then the onion, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until the edges brown. Stir in the tomato and green chilli and cook for 3 minutes, until it softens.
- Pour the whole tadka into the dal, pan scrapings and all. Simmer together for 5 minutes so the flavours settle, then check the salt.
- Finish with lemon juice and coriander off the heat. Serve with rice or hot chapatis.
Cook's notes
Salt the dal lightly at the start and correct it at the end, because the dal thickens as it stands and tastes saltier cold than hot. Leftovers set firm in the fridge: warm them with a splash of water and a fresh half tadka of ghee and cumin. For a Punjabi style finish, hold back a spoonful of the ghee tadka and trail it over the top in the serving bowl.
In a pressure cooker, use the same rinsed and soaked dal with 600ml of water, the turmeric and the salt. Cook over a medium flame for four whistles, then turn off the heat and leave it for ten minutes until the pressure drops by itself. Opening it early sprays starchy water and leaves the dal half cooked. If a few lentils still hold their shape, whisk hard or give it one more whistle, then thin with hot water as usual.
Serve dal tadka with plain basmati rice, a spoon of lime pickle and some sliced onion, or with jeera rice and a dry vegetable such as aloo gobi. It keeps for three days in the fridge and freezes well in portions for up to a month. Make the tadka fresh when you reheat it.
Questions
Do I need to soak toor dal before cooking?
A 30 minute soak is worth it. The dal softens evenly and cooks to a smooth paste in 35 to 40 minutes on the hob. Rinse it in warm water three times first, rubbing it between your palms, until the water runs clear.
Why do I need to wash oily toor dal?
Oily toor dal carries a thin coating of oil to keep it from spoiling in storage. Two or three rinses in warm water lift it away. Washing it well also means the dal froths less as it comes to the boil.
How do I know when toor dal is cooked?
Press a lentil against the side of the pan with your spoon. It should crush to a smooth paste with no grit at all. Whisk briefly to break the dal down, then loosen it with hot water until it is about as thick as single cream.
Why does my dal tadka taste flat?
Usually the tadka was rushed or added too early. Let the cumin darken a shade, brown the onion at the edges, and pour the whole pan into the dal with its scrapings. Check the salt only at the end, and finish with lemon juice off the heat.
