Dal Fry Recipe (Restaurant Style)

Ingredients

For pressure cooking lentils

• ½ cup pigeon pea lentils – hulled and split, (tuvar dal, arhar dal, toor dal) or ¼ cup each of masoor dal and toor dal
• 1.5 cups water – for stovetop pressure cooking
• 1 pinch turmeric powder (ground turmeric)

Other ingredients

• 2 to 3 tablespoons oil (neutral flavored) or unsalted butter or ghee (clarified butter)
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon mustard seeds (black)
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ⅓ cup onions – finely chopped, or 1 medium-sized
• 1 to 1.5 teaspoons ginger garlic paste or 1 inch peeled ginger & 3 to 4 medium peeled garlic cloves crushed in a mortar-pestle
• 2 green chilies – slit or chopped
• 2 to 3 dry red chilies – kept whole or halved and deseeded, optional
• 10 to 12 curry leaves
• 1 to 2 pinches asafoetida powder (hing) – for a strong asafoetida, just one pinch is enough
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper or smoked paprika
• ⅓ to ½ cup tomatoes – finely chopped, or 1 medium-sized
• 1 to 1.5 cups water or add as required
• salt as required
• 1 teaspoon dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ½ to 1 teaspoon lemon juice – optional
• 2 to 3 tablespoons coriander leaves – chopped, (cilantro) – for garnish

Steps

Cooking lentils

1. Put tuvar dal (arhar or pigeon pea lentils), or equal parts tuvar and masoor dal (pink or orange lentils), in a colander or sieve.
2. Rinse in water three to four times, then drain away all the water.
3. Put lentils in a 2-litre pressure cooker with a pinch of turmeric powder and 1.5 cups water.
4. Pressure-cook over medium heat for 9 to 10 minutes, until thoroughly softened.
5. Lightly mash the cooked lentils with a wired whisk or spoon and set aside.

Sautéing onions, tomatoes, spices

1. In a separate pan, heat oil, ghee or unsalted butter, then put in the mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter.
2. When the mustard seeds can be heard spluttering, add cumin seeds and fry.
3. Put the onions in the pan and sauté, stirring frequently, until translucent or light brown.
4. Stir the ginger-garlic paste into the pan and sauté for some seconds or until its raw aroma disappears.
5. Mix in green chilies, red chilies and curry leaves well.
6. Stir in the spice powders—turmeric, red chili and asafoetida—and mix again.
7. Put in the tomatoes and cook until soft, with oil releasing at the sides of the masala.

Making dal fry (stovetop)

1. Thoroughly mix in the cooked mashed lentils. Add water and salt and mix again.
2. Simmer another 4 to 5 minutes or until smooth and slightly thick, stirring at intervals.
3. Dal fry is usually medium to thick, rather than thin; adjust the water to the consistency you want.
4. Keep a medium consistency if preferred, since making it very thin dilutes the flavours.
5. Crush kasuri methi between your palms and add it, followed by garam masala powder. Simmer a minute, then switch off the heat and add chopped coriander leaves. Add lemon juice at this stage if desired and stir well.
6. More coriander leaves may be added as a garnish when serving.
7. If required, top with ghee or butter at serving time.
8. Serve hot with steamed basmati rice, biryani rice, jeera rice or saffron pulao, or pair with roti or naan.

Instant Pot Dal Fry

1. Select sauté on the Instant Pot and wait for the display to show hot. Add ghee or oil to the steel insert.
2. Let mustard seeds crackle first in the hot oil or melted ghee. When you hear them crackling, add cumin seeds and let splutter.
3. Add the chopped onions, then sauté with frequent stirring until softened.
4. Stir the ginger-garlic paste into the pot and sauté for a few seconds.
5. Stir in curry leaves, dry red chillies and green chillies and saute again for a few seconds.
6. Put the chopped tomatoes into the pot and sauté until they soften.
7. Mix in turmeric powder, red chilli powder and asafoetida well.
8. Add rinsed lentils and 1.5 cups water. Deglaze the steel insert's bottom to remove any stuck ingredient bits, and season with salt as needed.
9. Secure the lid and set the steam release handle to sealing. Press pressure cook/manual and set 15 minutes at high pressure. Lentils may take 10 to 15 minutes to cook, depending on age and quality; for dal fry they must be nicely softened.
10. After the pressure-cooking beep, wait 10 minutes, then quick-release the pressure.
11. Lightly mash the lentils. If too thick, add some hot water to thin and lighten the dal. If too thin for your liking, select sauté and simmer a few minutes.
12. Mix in kasuri methi, garam masala powder and coriander leaves, then switch off the Instant Pot. Serve hot or warm.