Warm, richly spiced, and built for a satisfying meal, Moong Dal Tadka Recipe - Restaurant Style & Pro Tips is a vegetarian Indian dal made with moong dal, turmeric, and oil in about 30 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 Servings
  • Category: dal
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

for pressure cooking:

  • 1 cup moong dal
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 2 cup water

other ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 dried red chilli
  • pinch hing
  • 3 chilli (finely chopped)
  • 5 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1 inch ginger (grated)
  • 1 onion (finely chopped)
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp chilli powder
  • ½ tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tomato (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp coriander (finely chopped)

for tadka:

  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • 5 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • 1 dried red chilli
  • ¼ tsp chilli powder

Method

  1. Firstly, in a pressure cooker take 1 cup moong dal, ¼ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp oil, and 2 cup water.
  2. Pressure cook for 2 whistles.
  3. Once the pressure releases, add 1 cup water and mix well. This helps to prevent moong dal from turning mushy. Keep aside.
  4. In a pan heat 2 tbsp oil. Add 1 tsp cumin, 1 dried red chilli and pinch hing.
  5. Saute on low flame until the spices are aromatic.
  6. Further add 3 chilli, 5 cloves garlic, 1 inch ginger. Saute till they turn aromatic.
  7. Now add 1 onion and saute well.
  8. Keeping the flame on low, add ½ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp chilli powder, ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp coriander powder. Saute till the spices turn aromatic.
  9. Add 1 tomato and saute till the tomatoes turn mushy. You can also add water to make the tomato mushy.
  10. Furthermore, add cooked dal, 1 tsp salt and mix well adjusting the consistency as required.
  11. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the flavors are well absorbed.
  12. To prepare the tadka, heat 2 tbsp ghee. Fry 5 cloves garlic till they turn golden brown.
  13. Keeping the flame on low, add ½ tsp cumin, 1 dried red chilli, ¼ tsp chilli powder.
  14. Pour the tempering on the dal and add 2 tbsp coriander. Mix well.
  15. Finally, enjoy Moong Dal Tadka Recipe with hot steamed 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.