Masoor Dal
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons peanut oil
- 1large onion, chopped
- 1cup dried red lentils, washed and picked over
- 2tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 1tablespoon minced garlic
- 1tablespoon mustard seeds
- 2cloves
- 1teaspoon cracked black pepper
- Salt
- 2tablespoons cold butter (optional)
- Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
310 calories; 14 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 36 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 13 grams protein; 251 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Put oil in a skillet over medium high heat; when it is hot, add onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes; set aside.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients except the salt, butter and cilantro in a saucepan. Add water to cover by about 1 inch, and bring to a boil. Adjust heat so mixture bubbles gently, and cook, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary, until lentils are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and more pepper and keep cooking to desired tenderness. Lentils should be saucy but not soupy.
- Step 3
Remove cloves from pan and add reserved sautéed onion. Stir in butter if you are using it. Taste and adjust seasoning, then garnish with cilantro and serve.
Private Notes
Comments
I would add some basic indian ingredients like turmeric, red pepper flakes and cumin seeds. Cook in ghee instead of peanut oil. Won't be so muddy then.
It's ineffective to just boil mustard seeds with the dal. You need to pop them in the oil, then add onions, ginger, garlix and fry.
Then, add some dry red chiles or sliced green chiles - the recipe lacks that. Use serranos, Thai chiles, or any chiles from the Indian store.
Don't boil seasonings with the dal
Definitely add turmeric, so that the finished product won't look so blah.
Peanut oil is a good choice or any other vegetable oil. Ghee is not a universal option for dal.
Rather muddy
Agree with everyone else's note here: you have to temper the spices (clove, mustard seed, garlic and ginger) by heating them in the oil before you frying the onions. Used 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes to turn up the heat and cooked the onions with cilantro (to enhance the flavor). No need to set onions aside. Once they are done cooking, I added the lentils (frying them in the pan briefly for 30 seconds or so) before adding chicken stock (instead of water). Was delicious!
This was delicious. I did Amp up the spices as suggested by others, with the exception of coriander because I was out. But the key seems to be the salt and pepper at every step. I used sunflower seed oil and a homegrown red Serrano with most seeds removed. Plenty flavorful.
Couldn’t get mustard seeds so subbed equal parts horseradish and it worked v well. Also going to push the the vegan agenda here and let y’all know I used Earth Balance instead of butter bc it isn’t necessary to exploit animals and it was still perfect :)