Toor dal (split pigeon peas)
तूर दाल · अरहरارہر دال
tūr dāl · arhar
Rinsed well.
Its job: Creamy, mild base.
Science-backed recipe
From the MedRise Food Science kitchenPublished
Dal Tadka: Creamy Dal, Sizzling Ghee
Also called Tadka Dal · Dal Fry · दाल तड़का · دال تڑکا
Silky toor dal with an onion-tomato masala, finished at the table with a sizzling tadka of ghee, garlic and dried red chilies.
In short
Dal tadka is toor dal finished with a sizzling ghee tempering of garlic and red chilies. It has about 12 g of protein per serving.
From the MedRise Food Science kitchenPublished - Active
- 40 min
- Prep
- 10 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
Why this recipe works
- ✓No soakingToor dal in 10 minutes.
- ✓Double tadkaMasala plus a final sizzle.
- ✓The Indian baseIn order.
- ✓Plant proteinAbout 12 g per serving (estimated).
What is dal tadka?
Dal tadka is cooked lentils finished with a tadka (tempering): spices sizzled in hot ghee and poured over the dal. It’s the everyday dal of North Indian homes and dhabas.
Meet the ingredients
The main ingredients, with their English, Hindi and Urdu names.
Hing (asafoetida)
हींगہینگ
hīng
A pinch.
Its job: Savory, onion-garlic depth.
Grow it yourself: Tomatoes, Cilantro (dhania), Garlic, Ginger
The lab notes
The science behind every step
Restaurant cooks do these things by habit. Here’s what each step is actually doing to the food, so you can cook by understanding instead of guesswork.
Lab note01
Why the final tadka
Pour sizzling ghee over the dal at the end.
Fat-soluble aroma compounds from garlic and chilies bloom in the hot ghee; poured on just before serving, they hit the table at full strength instead of simmering away.
Lab note02
The Indian base order
Cumin, then onions, ginger-garlic, salt and powdered spices, tomatoes, and garam masala last.
Each step cooks in the order its flavor needs: whole cumin blooms in hot fat, onions brown and sweeten, ginger-garlic loses its raw edge, ground spices toast for seconds without burning, tomatoes cook down until the oil separates, and garam masala goes in last so its aroma survives.
How to peel tomatoes, the food-science way
Score, blanch for 30–60 seconds, chill in ice water, and the skins slip right off. Peeled tomatoes cook into a smoother, silkier masala with no chewy flecks of skin.
1. ScoreCut a shallow X through the skin on the bottom of each tomato.
2. BlanchLower the tomatoes into rolling boiling water (a saucepan, or the Instant Pot on Sauté, More/High) for 30–60 seconds, just until the skin at the X starts to split.
3. ChillLift them straight into a bowl of ice water for about 1 minute.
4. PeelStarting at the X, slip the skins off with your fingers. Cut out the core, then chop or blend.
Why peel at all?
Tomato skin is a tough, waxy layer that doesn’t break down with cooking; in a long-cooked masala it curls into chewy flecks. The skin is also where almost all of a tomato’s flavonoids sit, mainly naringenin chalcone and rutin, the kind of plant compounds that can taste faintly bitter or astringent. Texture is the bigger, better-proven reason, but peeled tomatoes give the smoothest, cleanest-tasting gravy.
Why the boiling water works
A short plunge heats only the outer layer. The heat weakens the pectin that glues the skin to the flesh, and steam forming underneath pushes the skin away, so it splits and curls back at the X while the flesh inside stays raw and firm.
Why the ice bath
Ice water stops the cooking at once, so the flesh doesn’t turn soft and mushy, and makes the tomatoes cool enough to peel right away. More than about a minute in the boiling water starts to cook the flesh.
Sources: National Center for Home Food Preservation: Put It Up! Boiling Water Canning · Muir et al., Nature Biotechnology (2001): flavonoids in tomato peel
How to make it, at a glance
- Pressure cook the dalAdd the dal, water, turmeric and salt to the Instant Pot and pressure cook on High for 10 minutes; natural release 10 minutes. Whisk smooth and pour into a bowl.
- Cumin and onionsSelect Sauté (More). Heat the ghee, add the cumin seeds until they sizzle, then the onions until deep golden, 8–10 minutes.
- Ginger-garlic, then spicesAdd the ginger-garlic paste for 1 minute, then the salt, chili, turmeric and coriander for 30 seconds.
- TomatoesAdd the tomatoes and cook until thick and the oil separates, 5–6 minutes.
- Simmer togetherAdd the dal back with ½ cup water and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in the garam masala.
- Final tadkaIn a small pan, heat the ghee until shimmering. Add the cumin and hing, then the garlic until golden, then the dried chilies; turn off the heat and add the Kashmiri chili. Pour over the dal at once.
- ServeTop with cilantro and lemon and serve with rice or roti.
Exact amounts and timings are in the recipe card below.
Health benefits, honestly rated
An everyday pulse dish.
Macros per serving
Calories350
Protein12 g
Carbs39 g
Fat18 g
Fiber9 g
Sodium890 mg
3.4 g protein per 100 calories. Estimated from the ingredients with USDA FoodData Central values.
Gym-friendly tip: Serve with ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt as raita (about +16 g protein) or stir 100 g cubed paneer into the finished dal (about +18 g).
Plant protein and fiber
Toor dal supplies both.
Steadier blood sugar
Pulses have a low glycemic index.
Keep in mind
- The ghee tadka adds saturated fat; one tablespoon still gives the flavor.
General nutrition information, not medical advice. Numbers marked “estimated” are calculated from the recipe’s ingredients and vary with brands and portions. If you have diabetes, heart or kidney disease, a food allergy, or are pregnant, ask your doctor or a registered dietitian how this dish fits your diet.
Health sources: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: Legumes and pulses · Dietary guidance for pulses (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2017)
See the full ingredient health guide: benefits, traditional roots and the science →
Questions, answered
Do I need to soak toor dal?
No; rinse it well and pressure cook 10 minutes.
What is the difference between dal fry and dal tadka?
Dal fry cooks the dal in the masala; dal tadka adds a sizzling final tempering on top.
About MedRise Food Science
Desi restaurant favorites, recreated at home and explained with food science: every recipe is tested in a home kitchen and comes with the why behind each step.
Recipe card
Dal Tadka
Instant Pot dal tadka: toor dal pressure-cooked soft, simmered with an onion-tomato masala, then finished with a sizzling ghee tadka of garlic, dried red chilies and Kashmiri chili. With the science of tempering.
Prep10 minCook30 minTotal40 minServes4 servings
Ingredients
Dal
Indian base
Final tadka
Instructions (Instant Pot)
- Pressure cook the dalAdd the dal, water, turmeric and salt to the Instant Pot and pressure cook on High for 10 minutes; natural release 10 minutes. Whisk smooth and pour into a bowl.
- Cumin and onionsSelect Sauté (More). Heat the ghee, add the cumin seeds until they sizzle, then the onions until deep golden, 8–10 minutes.
- Ginger-garlic, then spicesAdd the ginger-garlic paste for 1 minute, then the salt, chili, turmeric and coriander for 30 seconds.
- TomatoesAdd the tomatoes and cook until thick and the oil separates, 5–6 minutes.
- Simmer togetherAdd the dal back with ½ cup water and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in the garam masala.
- Final tadkaIn a small pan, heat the ghee until shimmering. Add the cumin and hing, then the garlic until golden, then the dried chilies; turn off the heat and add the Kashmiri chili. Pour over the dal at once.
- ServeTop with cilantro and lemon and serve with rice or roti.
Notes
- Mixed dal
- Use half toor and half moong dal for a lighter dal.
- Storage
- Refrigerate up to 4 days; thin with hot water.
Equipment
- Instant Pot (6 qt)
- Small tadka pan