Indian · Main course · Tested 14 times

Dal Tadka — Tempered Yellow Lentils

The everyday Indian comfort bowl: yellow lentils simmered soft and creamy, then finished with a tadka — hot ghee bloomed with cumin, garlic, dried chili, and asafoetida, poured over sizzling at the end. Vegetarian, cheap, deeply satisfying.

By Arjun Iyer · India editor · Published 2026-03-14 · Updated 2026-05-21
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Prep
10 min
Cook
35 min
Total
45 min
Yields
4 servings
Difficulty
Easy
#indian#vegetarian#weeknight#lentils
Quick answer · A 30-second answer

Simmer toor/masoor dal with turmeric until soft and creamy, then whisk smooth. In a separate small pan, make the tadka: heat ghee, sizzle cumin seeds, garlic, dried red chili, and a pinch of asafoetida until fragrant, then pour the hot tempering over the dal. Finish with cilantro and lemon.

  • The tadka — hot fat bloomed with spices poured over at the end — is what makes it dal tadka. Don't skip it.
  • Whisk the cooked dal until creamy; some like it smooth, some rustic. Either way, it shouldn't be watery.
  • Asafoetida (hing) and cumin in ghee is the defining aroma. A tiny pinch of hing goes a long way.

Equipment

  • Pot or pressure cooker
  • Small tadka pan (or any small pan)
  • Whisk

Ingredients

Dal

  • 200 g toor dal (or masoor/yellow lentils), rinsed
  • 750 ml water, plus more as needed
  • 3 g ground turmeric
  • 5 g salt, to taste
  • 1 tomato, chopped (optional)

Tadka (tempering)

  • 45 g ghee, or oil for vegan
  • 5 g cumin seeds
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 dried red chilies
  • 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
  • 3 g Kashmiri chili powder, for color
  • Few curry leaves (optional)

To finish

  • Handful cilantro, chopped
  • Squeeze of lemon

Method

  1. STEP
    01

    Rinse the dal well. Simmer with the water, turmeric, and tomato (if using) until completely soft — 30 minutes in a pot, or 3–4 whistles in a pressure cooker. Add water as needed.

  2. STEP
    02

    Whisk the cooked dal until creamy (smooth or rustic, your choice). Season with salt. Loosen with hot water to a pourable, soupy-but-not-watery consistency. Keep warm.

  3. STEP
    03

    Heat the ghee in a small pan until shimmering. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle. Add the garlic and dried chilies and fry until the garlic is golden — don't burn it.

  4. STEP
    04

    Off the heat (so the spices don't scorch), stir in the asafoetida, Kashmiri chili powder, and curry leaves. It will sizzle and turn fragrant and red.

  5. STEP
    05

    Immediately pour the hot tadka over the warm dal — it should sizzle dramatically. Stir most of it in, leaving a little on top for show.

  6. STEP
    06

    Stir in the cilantro and a squeeze of lemon. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Make ahead

Cook the dal base ahead — it keeps and reheats well. Make the tadka fresh just before serving for the brightest aroma; it takes 2 minutes.

Storage

4 days refrigerated; it thickens, so loosen with water when reheating. Freezes 3 months. Re-temper with a fresh little tadka to revive it if you like.

Variations

Dal fry

Sauté onion, tomato, and ginger-garlic into the tadka and simmer it into the dal for a richer 'dal fry'.

Vegan

Use oil or vegan butter instead of ghee — everything else is naturally plant-based.

Tarka dal with spinach (dal palak)

Stir a couple of handfuls of chopped spinach into the dal in the last 5 minutes.

Serve with

Steamed basmati rice or jeera riceRoti or naanA simple kachumber saladPlain yogurt or raita

Nutrition per serving

290 kcal 12 g fat 33 g carbs 14 g protein 3 g sugar 8 g fiber 580 mg sodium
Allergens: Dairy (ghee)
Diet: Vegetarian, Gluten-free

Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.

Frequently asked

What is a tadka?

Tadka (also tarka or chhonk) is the technique of blooming whole spices and aromatics in hot fat, then pouring that flavored fat over a dish at the end. The hot ghee extracts and carries the flavor of the cumin, garlic, and chili in a way that adding them earlier can't. It's the heart of dal tadka.

Which lentils should I use?

Toor dal (split pigeon peas) is classic; masoor dal (red lentils) cooks faster and is a fine everyday choice; moong dal is lighter. Any of them, or a mix, works. Rinse well and cook until completely soft.

What is asafoetida (hing)?

A pungent dried resin that, cooked in hot fat, mellows into a savory, oniony-garlicky aroma. A tiny pinch is transformative in dal. It's also why dal is so digestible. Most hing is cut with wheat flour, so check the label if you're gluten-free.

Why is my dal watery / too thick?

Dal thickens as it sits and as it cools. Aim for a pourable, lightly soupy consistency when serving, and just add hot water to loosen or simmer to thicken. There's no fixed ratio — adjust to how you like to eat it (with rice it can be looser; with roti, thicker).

Can I make it vegan?

Yes — use oil or a vegan butter for the tadka instead of ghee. Everything else is plant-based. You'll lose a little of the nutty ghee aroma, so a pinch more cumin helps.

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