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Tarka Dal
Serves 4 Prep 5 min Cook 40 min Total 45 min Type Side Origin Indian

Tarka Dal

Every North Indian kitchen's dal: split yellow lentils cooked soft with turmeric, then crowned with a sputtering tarka of ghee, cumin, garlic and chilli.

Serves 4 Prep 5 minutes Cook 40 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Split yellow moong dal (or toor dal) cooks with turmeric, salt and water for 25 minutes until soft and breaking down. A small whisk smooths it into a creamy dal. Just before serving, ghee heats until shimmering; cumin seeds, garlic, dried chilli and asafoetida sizzle for 30 seconds; the whole sputtering mix is poured straight onto the dal. Fresh coriander, a wedge of lemon.

Ingredients

Dal

  • 250 g split yellow moong dal (or toor dal / channa dal mix)
  • 1.2 litres water
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt (to taste)
  • 1 tomato (small, chopped, optional)
  • 1 green chilli (small, slit, optional)

Tarka (tempering)

  • 4 tablespoons ghee
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
  • 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
  • 6 garlic cloves (sliced thin)
  • 2 dried Kashmiri chillies (broken)
  • 1 small piece fresh ginger (julienned, optional)
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 small handful curry leaves (fresh)

To finish

  • 2 tablespoons fresh coriander (chopped)
  • ½ lemon (at the table, juice)

Method

Stage 1 - Wash dal

  1. Rinse the dal in 3 changes of water until the water runs clear.

Stage 2 - Cook dal

  1. Place the dal in a wide pot with the water, turmeric, salt, tomato and green chilli.
  2. Bring to a boil; skim any foam.
  3. Reduce to a gentle simmer; cover partially; cook 25-30 minutes until the dal is soft and starting to break down. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
  4. Whisk briefly to break up the lentils into a creamy dal - thick but pourable.
  5. Adjust salt; add a splash of water if too thick.
  6. Keep warm over the lowest heat.

Stage 3 - Tarka

  1. In a small heavy pan, heat the ghee over medium-high until shimmering.
  2. Add cumin and mustard seeds; sizzle 5 seconds.
  3. Add asafoetida; sizzle 1 second.
  4. Add sliced garlic; fry 30-40 seconds until just turning gold.
  5. Add dried chillies, ginger (if using) and curry leaves; sizzle 5 seconds.
  6. Sprinkle in the chilli powder; sizzle 2 seconds.
  7. Immediately - while everything is still sputtering - pour the entire contents of the tarka pan over the warm dal.

Stage 4 - Serve

  1. Stir once gently to swirl the tarka through.
  2. Scatter coriander; bring to the table with lemon wedges.
  3. Eat with rice or roti.

Notes

  • Tarka timing: The garlic should be just gold, not brown. Brown garlic is bitter. The whole tempering takes 60 seconds; have everything to hand before you start.
  • Pour while sputtering: The sound of the hot tarka hitting the dal is the dish's signature. The visual steam is half the appeal.
  • Asafoetida: A pinch of this sulphurous gum adds digestibility and a savoury onion-garlic note that's unmistakable in Indian home cooking. Don't skip - hing is sold in any Indian shop.

Storage

  • Refrigerate 4 days. Reheat with a splash of water; if you can be bothered, make a fresh tarka rather than reheating the old one - it perks the dal back up.
  • Freezes 3 months.

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