This rich and creamy Caramelized Onion Dal is the perfect comfort food for a cold day! It is bursting with flavor from caramelized onions and whole spices which are tempered in oil! Serve with rice or flatbread for a delicious Indian meal. Glutenfree Soyfree Nutfree

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 17 minutes
  • Total time: 37 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

For the lentils:

  • 1/2 cup red lentils (or masoor dal)
  • 1/2 cup petite yellow lentils (or moong dal (or you can use more red lentils))
  • 1 tomato (chopped)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
  • 3 cups water

For the tadka/ tempering spices:

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

For the first tadka/ tempering:

  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • 1/2 inch ginger (minced)
  • 1/2 hot green chili (minced, I use serrano or Indian or Thai)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 5-6 curry leaves ((fresh or dried or frozen))

For the second tadka/tempering:

  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • The crushed spices from above

Method

  1. Cook the lentils; To cook the lentils in the instant pot, wash the lentils really well and drain. Add the to the instant pot with the rest of the ingredients and pressure cook for 7 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then open the lid.
  2. To cook the lentils in a saucepan add the washed and drained lentils with all the ingredients for the lentils to a saucepan, partially covered, and cook (20 mins or longer). You might need to add 1/2 cup more water if the lentils thicken too much. Transfer the lentils to a serving dish.
  3. For the tempering spices; add the cumin seeds and black peppercorns to a mortar and pestle and crush them. You can also use a spice grinder to make them into a coarse mixture and set them aside.
  4. For the first tempering: heat the oil in a medium skillet, once hot, add half of the crushed cumin and peppercorn mixture then add the onion and a good pinch of salt and cook until the onion is translucent.(5-7 mins) Then add the garlic, ginger, green chili, and the rest of the salt and continue to cook until the onion is golden (2-4 mins). Add the garam masala and curry leaves and cook for another half a minute.
  5. Add this caramelized onion mix to the cooked lentils. (Or add cooked lentils to the caramelized onion skillet). Gently stir but don’t mix completely. You want some clusters of caramelized onion throughout the dal.
  6. Make the second tempering: Heat the oil in a small skillet, once hot add the remaining cumin seeds/ peppercorn mixture and cook until the mixture becomes fragrant. Then pour it over the dal/cooked lentils. Garnish it with cilantro and lemon juice.
  7. Store in a closed container for upto 3 days. Freeze for upto a month.To make ahead: keep the tempering separate and heat and add just before serving

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.