Indian Mango Dal. Toor Dal with unripe or ripe mango and 6 ingredients. Easy 1 pot soup or side. Use other lentils or veggies for variation. Vegan Indian Dhal Recipe Gluten-free Soy-free. Easily doubled or halved.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Soup
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

Dal

  • 1 cup split pigeon pea/toor dal (or use other split peas or split red lentils(masoor dal) or yellow lentils (moong dal))
  • 3.5 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp or more salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
  • 1 mango (ripe or unripe mango chopped small)

Spiced oil(tadka) Tempering

  • 2 tsp oil
  • 1.5 tsp mustard seeds (black mustard seeds - Raee)
  • 4 to 6 dried red chilies (broken into half (less or more to heat preference. I use Cayenne, bird's eye or thai red. For mild heat use california red and use them whole))
  • 12 curry leaves (fresh, dried or frozen, chopped)
  • cilantro and lemon juice for garnish

Method

  1. Wash and soak the split peas for half an hour. Drain, add to a deep saucepan with water. Partially cover and cook over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes or until tender to preference. Add in the salt, turmeric and mango at the 15-20 minute mark. At this point you can also add some chopped tomato. (Mustard seeds in the tempering add a salty flavor profile, so start with less salt in the dal)
  2. Make the spiced oil/ tempering: Heat oil in small skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, reduce heat to medium low and add mustard seeds and let them start to pop. Use a lid if the popping gets too exuberant. Add dried red chilies and curry leaves and cook for a few seconds. Switch off heat
  3. Add this tempering to the simmering dal. Mix in very lightly, and take off heat. Taste and adjust salt and heat. Add in spice blend like garam masala or kolhapuri masala or sambas masala for more flavor if you like. Serve with an Indian meal with a veggie dry side (subzi), rice or flatbread, or serve as a soup with a dash of lemon and crackers or pita bread.

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.