Tadka Urad Dal
Tadka Urad Dal was a favored lentil dish in my family while I was growing up. Dal is a staple dish in Indian meals and, for most Indian vegetarians, a frequent source of protein. This delicious, nourishing dish can accompany any number of different meals.
Ingredients
- 1 cup urad dal washed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 Tbsp ginger finely chopped
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp mango powder amchoor
Seasoning
- 3 Tbsp ghee clarified butter
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds jeera
- 1/8 tsp asafetida hing
- 1 green chili sliced
- 1 Tbsp ginger thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper adjust to taste
- 4 pieces lemon for garnishing
Instructions
- Wash and soak urad dal for at least 20 minutes. Dal will be double in volume after soaking. Drain the water.
- Put dal with 2 cups water into a pressure cooker and add salt, turmeric, and ginger. Close the cover and cook on medium high heat.
- When the pressure cooker starts to steam, turn the heat down to low and cook for five minutes.
- Turn off the heat and wait until all the steam has escaped before opening the pressure cooker. Dal should be soft. If needed add more water, dal should be not very mushy you should be able to see the grains. You should be able to scoop the dal with roti. Dal will thicken as it sits after cooking. So leave it more liquid than you want it to be.
- Add garam masala, and mango powder mix it well.
Seasoning
- Heat ghee in a small saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the ghee; if it cracks immediately, the oil is ready. Add the cumin seeds. When they begin to crack, add the asafetida, ginger, and green chilies. Stir for a few seconds. Add red chili powder and 1 tablespoon of water to prevent the spices from burning. Pour spiced chaunk over hot dal, before serving.
Notes
Tadka urad dal is ready serve with roti or paratha, or with plain rice.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Originally posted 2016-07-07 23:21:08.
This is my staple recipe loved it . Never thought I will like urid dal. Now I love it. Making it again today. Easy tasty recipes.thanks manjula
Really easy to follow and delicious! Reminded me of home ❤
this was so tasty! I used to use the same ingrediends but in different order and pot, and oh dear what a difference your recipe makes! so tasty, I will add the spices in the order you said from now on. Thank you!
thanks, I appreciate
This was so delicious, just like my grandmother used to make. Thank you for sharing your family recipe. Now I know how to make it, I will enjoy it very much. Blessings to you and your family. Trisha
Trisha, Thank you
Hi Manjula, I love your website. Regarding urad dal you are adding two cups water to one cup of dal and then cook in the pressure cooker for 5 minutes . In my cooking I had to add 4cups and cook for more than 8 minutes in the pressure cooker. Are there different varieties of washed urad or differences in pressure cookers. My cooker is presto.
Thanks, and keep up with inspiring recipes.
Devki, I don’t know why this dal I make all the time with the same measurement I also use presto cooker
Excellent recipe to enhance it can try 2 things Urad dhuli dal ( yellow Punjabi )
We do 2 things in our house growing up
1) add 2 oz Channa dal
2) add soaked daal to dry pressure cooker
For few minutes stir till most daal grains have been rotated thru dry heat
It helps the final consistency
Also urad spoils very quickly in refrigerator be careful. You are better off undercooking a portion and freezing instead then take out to defrost and add tadka. Try it !
Very nice recipe. Thank you so much! Hare Krishna
I didn’t want to stop eating this! So delicious. Could you recommend a vegetable dish that would pair well with it?
This is the best dal I have ever eaten! I’ve been making it regularly since I discovered your YouTube channel about a year ago. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Claudetta, thanks
Urad dal tadka was finger licking good
Vikas, Thank you
Thank you for your lovely recipes Manjula. Could you please advise how long I can leave cooked Dahl for in the fridge. I work in the week so make as many dishes as I can at the weekend to eat during the week. Do you have any advice?
should be good for few days it depends on the dish.
This recipe is delicious! Thanks for sharing. I made it in my instant pot pressure cooker. I have had some urad dal in my cupboard for ages and wasn’t quite sure what to do with this type of lentil.
I made Tadka Urad Dal for dinner last night. It was so good, I couldn’t wait for dinner time today so I could eat what was leftover. Thank you Manjula for the videos of your recipes. It really helps when I am making a new dish to see how it should be done.
Namaste! Thank you and your father for a delicious recipe. The lemon is a perfect garnish. The dish is scrumptious!
Sadhu, Thank you
Wonderful change of pace to add variety to daily life! 🙂 Very unusual and delicious; home-style and comforting. 🙂 Thanks so much!
Khadijah, Thank you
Hello Manjula, I have a Vinod pressure cooker, and I only cooked the urad dal for 1 whistle, which was about 12 minutes. The dal was not as soft as you showed. Do you know how many whistles it should take? Thank you and I learn so much from your videos.
Nancy, I have never used that particular pressure cooker, next time try 2 whistle.
We always prepare yellow Dal with same process, we will try with Urad now
What a wonderful gift for everyone. I love watching you cook so much I bought the book! Thank you for everything.
Angela, Thank you
Nice recipe Manjula ji, can we make with other dal variety the same way?
Shiny, yes
Manjula ji,
Did you use whole urad dal or split urda dal? Is it ok to use split urad dal with skin?
Thank you.
Sanjana
Love your recipes, but not everyone has a pressure cooker (like me!). Perhaps you could give the cooking times for non-pressure cooker cooks! Thanks.
Ellen, will take about 30 minutes of cooking use larger pot, because when you are cooking any lentils, dal will foam when it comes to boil in beginning, also will need more water.