Savor the taste of homemade dal fry with our authentic toor dal recipe, ideal for any occasion or everyday dining.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 3 Servings
  • Category: dal
  • Cuisine: north indian

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup toor dal
  • 3½ cup water
  • 1 tbsp ghee / clarified butter
  • 1 tsp mustard / rai
  • 1 tsp jeera / cumin
  • 1 dried red chilli (broken)
  • few curry leaves
  • pinch of hing / asafoetida
  • 1 onion (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1 green chilli (slit)
  • ¼ tsp turmeric / haldi
  • ½ tsp kashmiri red chilli powder / lal mirch powder
  • ½ tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tomato (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp coriander (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp kasuri methi / dry fenugreek leaves

Method

  1. firstly in a pressure cook ¾ cup toor dal and 3 cup water for 5 whistles.
  2. now in another kadai heat 1 tbsp ghee and splutter 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp jeera, 1 dried red chilli, few curry leaves and pinch of hing.
  3. add in 1 onion followed by 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and 1 green chilli. saute well.
  4. further add ¼ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp chilli powder and ½ tsp coriander powder. saute on low flame.
  5. additionally add 1 tomato and saute till it turns soft and mushy.
  6. add the cooked dal along with 1 tsp salt. mix well.
  7. simmer for 5 minutes or till dal turns smooth and absorbs flavour.
  8. now add ¼ tsp garam masala, 1 tbsp coriander and 1 tsp crushed kasuri methi.
  9. finally, serve dal fry with hot jeera rice or ghee rice.

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.