One of the most comforting and satisfying meal, this Lentil Dal Recipe is easy to make and bursting with authentic Indian taste! A must try recipe if you are looking for a flavorful vegetarian dish that is protein rich and packed with nutrients.
This Lentil Dal Recipe made with mixed lentils and popularly known as maah choley ki dal is by far my most requested dal recipe at home. The beauty of this dal is in its simplicity and the earthiness of the flavors. Lentils are a great way to add plant based proteins to your diet. Just like this Lentil Carrot Soup, this lentil dal can be enjoyed as a soup by itself or as a full meal when served with rotis or rice. If you’ve never tried a lentil dal recipe before, this is a great one!
This recipe is
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Easy to make
- Packed with plant-based nutrients
- Flavorful
- Comforting
- A complete meal by itself!
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Recipe Ingredients
The backbone of this recipe is the lentils - two different kinds to be specific. It's made with an mix of two lentils flavored with aromatics like ginger, garlic and onion and warm Indian spices.
- Lentils/Dals - you will need a combination of split black gram lentils (maah ki daal) with the skin on and split Bengal gram lentils (yellow lentils/choley or chane ki daal).
- Aromatics/Veggies - onion (you can use red or white onion), ginger garlic paste, tomato, cilantro, and green chili (optional). These veggies will form the base of the flavor profile along with the spices.
- Spices - for tempering the lentils, we will make a spiced oil (or ghee). This is called "tadka". The spices that you will need include cumin seeds, coriander powder, and red chili powder (I use cayenne). Garam masala is the finishing touch of this lentil dal recipe. You can use my homemade garam masala and read more about spices in my Indian Spices post.
Don't forget to check out the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients along with the quantities.
How to make this recipe
Since the lentils we are using in the recipe are more hearty than the usual red lentils, you will need a pressure cooker or instant pot to make this quicker. Instant pot instructions are included in recipe notes below. If you choose to make it in a open pot, you will need a lot more water and much longer time for the lentils to cook.
Step 1: Mix the two lentils and rinse them with cold water 2-3 times or until the rinsed water is not cloudy anymore. Drain the lentils and add to your pressure cooker (Image 1).
Step 2: Put the pressure on high heat and add water, chopped onions, tomatoes, green chili (if using), ginger garlic paste, turmeric and salt (Image 2). Close and lock the lid. Let the cooker come to full pressure (until it "whistles") and then lower the heat to a simmer and let the lentils cook for 20 minutes. After that turn the heat off and let the pressure release naturally.
Step 3: After the pressure has released (it will take about 15 minutes), take the lid of the pressure cooker off. Your lentils should be perfectly cooked by now (Image 3).
Step 4: Set a small fry pan on medium high heat and add ghee (or oil of your choice) to it (Image 4).
Step 5: Once the ghee is melted and heated through (it will look shiny, about 20 seconds), add the cumin seeds. You will know that the ghee is hot if the cumin seeds crackle when they hit the hot ghee (Image 5).
Step 6: After the cumin seeds have toasted and are fragrant, add the coriander and red chilli powders, mix for 10-15 seconds, and turn the heat off (Image 6). This is your spiced ghee or tempering (tadka).
Step 7: Add the spiced ghee/tempering to the pressure cooker that has the cooked lentil dal (Image 7). Put the pressure cooker back on medium high heat.
Step 8: Finish this Indian lentil dal with garam masala and chopped cilantro (Image 8). Let it come to a boil and then turn the heat off.
Tips for this recipe
- Pressure Cooker - A pressure cooker is the quickest way to go, but if you have time and want to develop the depth of flavors over the slow cooking route – either in a crockpot or on the stove top, go for it! In that case, soaking the rinsed lentils in warm water for 30 minutes would cut down the cooking time. Don't want to buy another kitchen gadget? You can make this lentil dal recipe in an Instant pot!
- Consistency of dal - This recipe will make a thick dal, somewhere between a soup and a stew. You can thin it out by adding warm water until you reach the desired consistency. You might want to check and adjust salt after adding more water.
- Season liberally - Taste the salt as you go about cooking these lentils and do not be afraid to add more salt if needed. The spice powders in the recipe might seem a lot but trust me when I say that you want to go heavy on the aromatics and spices in this recipe to pack the flavor. All the spices are warm spices and not hot or spicy spices.
Substitutions
- Vegan - The lentil preparation by itself is vegan. The only non-vegan ingredient is ghee. You can easily swap it with a cooking oil of your choice like olive oil or avocado oil. This recipe is also gluten free!
- Spicy - The recipe calls for about a teaspoon of chopped serrano pepper which is optional and would make this dal medium spicy. You can choose to skip the pepper, use a jalapeno for mild spice or use a thai chili for a higher spice level.
- Lentils - You can use the same recipe to cook any whole or split lentils that have not been de-skinned like the brown lentils, whole green moong lentils, or black beluga lentils.
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating Instructions
If you have leftovers or if you make a double batch recipe (highly recommended), here's how you can store or freeze them:
- Storage - you can store the leftovers in a air tight container in the refrigerator for upto 5 days.
- Freezing - you can freeze leftovers for upto 3 months. You can either put them in a freezer proof container or in a freezer safe ziptop bag. If you make a double batch, do not temper with the spiced ghee. Instead, freeze the boiled lentils and temper the lentil dal when ready to eat.
- Reheating - Reheat leftovers from the refrigerator in a microwave or in a small saucepan on medium high heat until heated through. From the freezer, let the lentils thaw and then reheat in microwave or sauce pan. If you froze the lentils without tempering, warm the thawed lentils in a sauce pan, make the tempering, add it to the lentils and bring to boil. Then finish with cilantro and garam masala.
Instant Pot instructions
Add the rinsed and drained lentils, salt, turmeric, chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, and green chili (if using) into your instant pot. I have a 6-qt Instant Pot that I use for this recipe. Plug the instant pot in and set it to manual high pressure and set the timer to 20 minutes. Set the valve to sealing position. After the 20 minutes are up, let the pressure release naturally. It will take 10-15 minutes. Open the lid, set the instant pot to low saute mode. Add the spiced ghee and mix. Finish with chopped cilantro and garam masala. Turn the saute mode off as soon as the dal come to a boil.
Recipe FAQs
A bowl of this hearty dal can be had as a soup by itself. Add a dollop of yogurt or sour cream for more creaminess. Lentils go great with rice, rotis or naan.
Lentils are a plant based protein powerhouse and very healthy. The spices in this recipe like turmeric and coriander add even more health benefits.
Not for this recipe. Since this recipe of lentil dal is cooked in a pressure cooker, you don't need to soak them. If you cook the lentils in a open pot, soaking will cut down the cooking time.
Related Lentil Recipes
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Love- Vaishali
Indian Mixed Lentil Dal Recipe (Maah Choley ki Daal)
Equipment
- 3 qt Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot
Ingredients
For Lentils
- ½ cup Split black gram lentils with skin (Urad dal)
- ½ cup Split bengal gram lentils (chana dal)
- 4 cup Water
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ Onion, chopped red or white, scant 1 cup
- 1 Tomato, chopped scant 1 cup
- ½ tablespoon Ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon Green chili, chopped Optional, see notes
For the Spiced Ghee/oil
- 1 tablespoon Ghee or use olive oil to make the dal vegan
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1.5 tablespoon Coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon Red chili powder I use cayenne
- ½ teaspoon Garam masala
- 4-5 sprigs Fresh cilantro finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the lentils and rinse with room temperature water 2-3 times. In a pressure cooker (I use this one), add the rinsed and drained lentils along with 4 cups of water, salt and turmeric powder. Set the pressure cooker on high heat and add the chopped onions, tomato, ginger garlic paste, and green chili (if using).
- Put on the lid of the pressure cooker with the weight on and lock it in place. It will take about 5 minutes for the cooker to come to full pressure (when it starts whistling). At this point, turn the heat to low and let the dal cook for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and wait for the pressure to release by itself, another 15 minutes. See notes.
Tempering/Spiced Ghee/oil
- Set a heavy bottomed, small frying pan on medium high heat, add ghee (or olive oil) and let it heat up.
- Once the ghee melts, add cumin seeds and wait for the cumin seed to splutter. Now add coriander powder and red chili powder and cook for 10-15 seconds. Turn the heat off.
- Take the lid off the pressure cooker and return to medium heat. Stir the lentils around with a spatula and add the spiced oil/tadka to it. Add garam masala and chopped cilantro and the give the whole thing a taste check. Add more salt or garam masala if needed.
- These lentils can be enjoyed as a soup/stew with a slice of hearty whole wheat toast or as regular dal with roti/chapathi , rice, or naan. Enjoy!
Notes
The garam masala I use is homemade and is very potent so I add just a small amount. If your store bought garam masala is not very strong, please adjust the amount to taste.
KEVIN FOODIE
Interesting recipe. Perfect for Meatless Mondays. Your lentil dal dish would pair well with my sweet potato mash. Thanks for sharing.
Vaishali
Thanks, Kevin. Sweet potato mash served with this dal sounds delicious.