Dal Tadka Recipe Restaurant Style Home Style

In this post I am sharing 2 versions of the recipe.

Restaurant Style Dal Tadka – Made on Stovetop with an optional smoking method. Home Style Dal Tadka – Made in the Instant Pot.

Both the recipes are easy and taste good. You can make either of them as per your preference. For making homestyle dal tadka on stovetop, check the notes section in the recipe card of instant pot dal tadka recipe.

About this Recipe

Dal Tadka is one of the most popular lentil dish served in Indian restaurants. Basically, dal tadka is cooked lentils which are tempered with oil or ghee fried spices & herbs. I have to admit that I simply love the dal tadka that is served at the restaurants even though we hardly eat out. So I try to recreate the restaurant magic in most of the food that I make at home. Here the restaurant style flavors come from smoking the dal using a red-hot charcoal. Trust me, this simple method of smoking makes the dal so much flavorful and tasty. In Hindi language we also call this smoking technique as dhungar. This Dal Tadka recipe is more of a North Indian style recipe.

What does Dal Tadka mean?

Dal is the Hindi term for lentils. Tadka or Chaunk is the Hindi term for tempering and is a commonly employed cooking technique in the Indian cuisine. Tempering method has the spices & herbs fried in oil. The frying of the spices and herbs release their essential oils, aroma and flavor in the hot oil. This fried spices, herbs, oil mixture is added to prepared lentils or cooked rice or steamed vegetables and it greatly changes the flavor, aroma and taste of the dish. Tempering is very much a part of cooking Indian food and we use this method while making dal, vegetable dishes or chutneys.

Lentils added

How to make Dal Tadka

1. Rinse 1 cup tuvar dal or arhar dal (split & husked pigeon pea lentils) for a couple of times in water. Add them to a 3 litre pressure cooker.You can also cook the lentils in a pot. Soak the lentils for an hour or two before you cook them in a pot. The method on cooking lentils in a pot is mentioned in the notes section of the recipe card below.
2. Add ½ cup chopped onions, 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes, 1 or 2 green chilies (1 teaspoon of chopped Anaheim pepper or Serrano pepper can be subbed for green chillies) and 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger.
3. Pour 2.5 cups of water. If cooking in a pot, then about 4 to 4.5 cups of water can be added.
4. Add ½ turmeric powder and 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing). If you do not have asafoetida, then skip it.
5. Mix well.
6. Pressure cook the lentils for about 7 to 8 whistles or more till they become soft and creamy. Mash the cooked lentils with a wired whisk or with a spoon and keep aside. If the consistency looks thick, then add some water. About ½ cup to 1 cup water (depending on the thickness) to get a medium consistency. Simmer dal for 3 to 4 minutes. Consistency of the lentils in the below photo.
7. Once the desired consistency is reached, add 1 to 2 tablespoons low-fat cream (optional), ½ teaspoon garam masala powder, 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) and salt as per paste. Switch off the the heat.
8. Mix well so that everything combines uniformly. Check the salt before you add the tempering. If the salt is less than add more salt to the dal.
9. The final consistency of the cooked dal. Optional – smoking or dhungar method
10. Next is the dhungar method of flavoring dal tadka with the smoky fumes of burnt charcoal. For this with the help of tongs or on a grill pan like shown in the photo below, place a small piece of charcoal. Burn the charcoal till it becomes red hot. Please use natural charcoal for this method. Note that this is an optional step and you can proceed directly to the tempering method.
11. Place the red hot charcoal in a small steel bowl. You can also use onion layers or a halved hollow onion for the same.
12. Pour about ¼ tsp of oil or ghee on the charcoal. You will see fumes emanating as soon as you pour oil or ghee on the hot charcoal.
13. Place this bowl on the dal.
14. Cover the cooker or the pot with a lid and let the dal get infused with the charcoal smoke. Just keep for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not keep for a long time as then the dal can taste bitter. Remove the bowl carefully with the help of tongs and cover the cooker with a lid. Set aside. Making tempering or tadka
15. Next heat 3 tablespoons oil or ghee (clarified butter) in a small pan. First, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and crackle them. The cumin should get fried and not be raw, but don’t burn them. 16. Now add 2 to 3 dry red chilies, a generous pinch of asafoetida and 5 to 6 medium sized garlic cloves which have been finely chopped. Let the garlic brown and the red chilies change color. Do not burn the garlic.
16. Lastly add 1 teaspoon crushed kasuri methi and ½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper. Mix and switch off the stove. Make sure to fry the tempering ingredients at a low flame, so that you don’t burn them.
17. Pour entire tempering along with the oil or ghee into the dal.
18. You can mix the dal with tempering or serve the dal tadka with the tempering on top it. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with steamed basmati rice, cumin rice or with Indian flatbread like roti or paratha or chapati or naan.

Serving Suggestions

The tempering adds a lot of flavor, aroma and thus the dal tadka gets paired beautifully with steamed rice or jeera rice (cumin flavored pilaf). Dal tadka can be also be served with roti or naan or dinner rolls or paratha.

Expert Tips

Dal is a staple in Indian food. India has so many varieties of dal recipes. Each region, each state having their own delicious recipes. Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Dal Makhani Recipe Chana Dal (Split Chickpeas) Dal Fry Recipe Masoor Dal Recipe | Indian Red Lentils Recipe

About Instant Pot Dal Tadka

Dal is a staple at home and I make them in different varieties. What I am sharing in this post, is a version that has been made for decades and is still being made. A family recipe and one which I make often. A comforting and nourishing dal recipe which I hope you enjoy as much as we do. This is a vegan recipe and can be made gluten-free by skipping asafoetida. There are many variations of making dal tadka. This instant pot recipe is a home-style version and tastes good like an everyday home cooked food. After getting the instant pot, I have been making dal in it. I have stopped using the stove-top pressure cooker completely. Thus I have updated this post with the instant pot method also. I have included the stovetop method of this homestyle dal tadka in the recipe card. At times I even cook the rice along with the dal. I usually serve this dal tadka with roti (Indian flatbread) or steamed rice. So when making rice, I cook the rice and dal together in the IP. It is best served with some steamed basmati rice. You can also serve with chapati or roti or dinner rolls.

Step by Step Instant Pot Dal

1. Take ½ cup arhar dal (tuvar dal or pigeon pea lentils) in a bowl or colander.
2. Rinse a couple of times and add the rinsed dal in the instant pot steel insert.
3. Add ⅓ heaped cup sliced onions, ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes, 2 green chillies or serrano peppers (sliced, slit or chopped).
4. Add ½ tsp turmeric powder,  ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder and a pinch of asafoetida (hing).
5. Pour 1.5 cup water. Mix well.
6. Mix very well. At this step if you plan to cook rice, then place a tall trivet and add rice+water in a steaming pan. Place the pan on the trivet.
7. Switch on the IP. Secure the lid and position the steam release handle to sealing. Press the pressure cook button and set the timer for 15 minutes on high pressure. Depending on the quality and age of lentils, it can take 10 to 15 minutes. I prefer the dal to be cooked really well and mushy without any separate grains visible, so I cook the lentils for 15 minutes. At times I have even cooked the lentils for 20 minutes. So depending on the quality of dal, you can decide upon the timing. Anyways, even if the lentils are undercooked, you can always pressure cook for some more minutes later.
8. Give NPR (natural pressure release) after 10 minutes. Release the pressure after 10 minutes and open the IP lid. The lentils have to be cooked very well and become soft and mushy. If the consistency of dal looks thick, then add some hot water to thin it. If dal looks thin, then use the sauté option and simmer dal for a few minutes.
9. With a spoon lightly mash the dal. If the dal looks thick, you can add some hot water.
10. Season with salt as per taste and stir very well. Cover the cooked dal with the IP lid and begin with the tempering Preparing tempering (tadka)
11. In a small pan or tadka pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil. Keep the flame to low or medium-low. Add ½ teaspoon small mustard seeds.
12. Let the mustard seeds crackle.
13. Then add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds.
14. The cumin seeds will crackle as soon as you add them in oil. Let them change their color.
15. Then add 4 to 5 medium garlic cloves, crushed lightly with their peels on. You can also slice or chop the garlic. Fry for some seconds stirring often. The garlic can be a light golden but do not brown them or burn them.
16. Add 1 to 2 dry red chilies (broken and deseeded).
17. Add 9 to 10 curry leaves.  fry for a few seconds till the red chilies change color and the curry leaves become crisp.
18. Pour the entire tempering mixture in the dal.
19. Mix very well.
20. Lastly, add 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
21. Stir and instant pot dal tadka with steamed rice or roti. You can garnish with some coriander leaves while serving. This recipe post is from the archives (July 2012) and has been republished and updated on 4 June 2020. This post contains amazon affiliate links.

title: “Dal Tadka Recipe Restaurant Style Home Style " ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-09” author: “Heather Byers”

In this post I am sharing 2 versions of the recipe.

Restaurant Style Dal Tadka – Made on Stovetop with an optional smoking method. Home Style Dal Tadka – Made in the Instant Pot.

Both the recipes are easy and taste good. You can make either of them as per your preference. For making homestyle dal tadka on stovetop, check the notes section in the recipe card of instant pot dal tadka recipe.

About this Recipe

Dal Tadka is one of the most popular lentil dish served in Indian restaurants. Basically, dal tadka is cooked lentils which are tempered with oil or ghee fried spices & herbs. I have to admit that I simply love the dal tadka that is served at the restaurants even though we hardly eat out. So I try to recreate the restaurant magic in most of the food that I make at home. Here the restaurant style flavors come from smoking the dal using a red-hot charcoal. Trust me, this simple method of smoking makes the dal so much flavorful and tasty. In Hindi language we also call this smoking technique as dhungar. This Dal Tadka recipe is more of a North Indian style recipe.

What does Dal Tadka mean?

Dal is the Hindi term for lentils. Tadka or Chaunk is the Hindi term for tempering and is a commonly employed cooking technique in the Indian cuisine. Tempering method has the spices & herbs fried in oil. The frying of the spices and herbs release their essential oils, aroma and flavor in the hot oil. This fried spices, herbs, oil mixture is added to prepared lentils or cooked rice or steamed vegetables and it greatly changes the flavor, aroma and taste of the dish. Tempering is very much a part of cooking Indian food and we use this method while making dal, vegetable dishes or chutneys.

Lentils added

How to make Dal Tadka

1. Rinse 1 cup tuvar dal or arhar dal (split & husked pigeon pea lentils) for a couple of times in water. Add them to a 3 litre pressure cooker.You can also cook the lentils in a pot. Soak the lentils for an hour or two before you cook them in a pot. The method on cooking lentils in a pot is mentioned in the notes section of the recipe card below.
2. Add ½ cup chopped onions, 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes, 1 or 2 green chilies (1 teaspoon of chopped Anaheim pepper or Serrano pepper can be subbed for green chillies) and 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger.
3. Pour 2.5 cups of water. If cooking in a pot, then about 4 to 4.5 cups of water can be added.
4. Add ½ turmeric powder and 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing). If you do not have asafoetida, then skip it.
5. Mix well.
6. Pressure cook the lentils for about 7 to 8 whistles or more till they become soft and creamy. Mash the cooked lentils with a wired whisk or with a spoon and keep aside. If the consistency looks thick, then add some water. About ½ cup to 1 cup water (depending on the thickness) to get a medium consistency. Simmer dal for 3 to 4 minutes. Consistency of the lentils in the below photo.
7. Once the desired consistency is reached, add 1 to 2 tablespoons low-fat cream (optional), ½ teaspoon garam masala powder, 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) and salt as per paste. Switch off the the heat.
8. Mix well so that everything combines uniformly. Check the salt before you add the tempering. If the salt is less than add more salt to the dal.
9. The final consistency of the cooked dal. Optional – smoking or dhungar method
10. Next is the dhungar method of flavoring dal tadka with the smoky fumes of burnt charcoal. For this with the help of tongs or on a grill pan like shown in the photo below, place a small piece of charcoal. Burn the charcoal till it becomes red hot. Please use natural charcoal for this method. Note that this is an optional step and you can proceed directly to the tempering method.
11. Place the red hot charcoal in a small steel bowl. You can also use onion layers or a halved hollow onion for the same.
12. Pour about ¼ tsp of oil or ghee on the charcoal. You will see fumes emanating as soon as you pour oil or ghee on the hot charcoal.
13. Place this bowl on the dal.
14. Cover the cooker or the pot with a lid and let the dal get infused with the charcoal smoke. Just keep for 1 to 2 minutes. Do not keep for a long time as then the dal can taste bitter. Remove the bowl carefully with the help of tongs and cover the cooker with a lid. Set aside. Making tempering or tadka
15. Next heat 3 tablespoons oil or ghee (clarified butter) in a small pan. First, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and crackle them. The cumin should get fried and not be raw, but don’t burn them. 16. Now add 2 to 3 dry red chilies, a generous pinch of asafoetida and 5 to 6 medium sized garlic cloves which have been finely chopped. Let the garlic brown and the red chilies change color. Do not burn the garlic.
16. Lastly add 1 teaspoon crushed kasuri methi and ½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper. Mix and switch off the stove. Make sure to fry the tempering ingredients at a low flame, so that you don’t burn them.
17. Pour entire tempering along with the oil or ghee into the dal.
18. You can mix the dal with tempering or serve the dal tadka with the tempering on top it. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with steamed basmati rice, cumin rice or with Indian flatbread like roti or paratha or chapati or naan.

Serving Suggestions

The tempering adds a lot of flavor, aroma and thus the dal tadka gets paired beautifully with steamed rice or jeera rice (cumin flavored pilaf). Dal tadka can be also be served with roti or naan or dinner rolls or paratha.

Expert Tips

Dal is a staple in Indian food. India has so many varieties of dal recipes. Each region, each state having their own delicious recipes. Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Dal Makhani Recipe Chana Dal (Split Chickpeas) Dal Fry Recipe Masoor Dal Recipe | Indian Red Lentils Recipe

About Instant Pot Dal Tadka

Dal is a staple at home and I make them in different varieties. What I am sharing in this post, is a version that has been made for decades and is still being made. A family recipe and one which I make often. A comforting and nourishing dal recipe which I hope you enjoy as much as we do. This is a vegan recipe and can be made gluten-free by skipping asafoetida. There are many variations of making dal tadka. This instant pot recipe is a home-style version and tastes good like an everyday home cooked food. After getting the instant pot, I have been making dal in it. I have stopped using the stove-top pressure cooker completely. Thus I have updated this post with the instant pot method also. I have included the stovetop method of this homestyle dal tadka in the recipe card. At times I even cook the rice along with the dal. I usually serve this dal tadka with roti (Indian flatbread) or steamed rice. So when making rice, I cook the rice and dal together in the IP. It is best served with some steamed basmati rice. You can also serve with chapati or roti or dinner rolls.

Step by Step Instant Pot Dal

1. Take ½ cup arhar dal (tuvar dal or pigeon pea lentils) in a bowl or colander.
2. Rinse a couple of times and add the rinsed dal in the instant pot steel insert.
3. Add ⅓ heaped cup sliced onions, ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes, 2 green chillies or serrano peppers (sliced, slit or chopped).
4. Add ½ tsp turmeric powder,  ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder and a pinch of asafoetida (hing).
5. Pour 1.5 cup water. Mix well.
6. Mix very well. At this step if you plan to cook rice, then place a tall trivet and add rice+water in a steaming pan. Place the pan on the trivet.
7. Switch on the IP. Secure the lid and position the steam release handle to sealing. Press the pressure cook button and set the timer for 15 minutes on high pressure. Depending on the quality and age of lentils, it can take 10 to 15 minutes. I prefer the dal to be cooked really well and mushy without any separate grains visible, so I cook the lentils for 15 minutes. At times I have even cooked the lentils for 20 minutes. So depending on the quality of dal, you can decide upon the timing. Anyways, even if the lentils are undercooked, you can always pressure cook for some more minutes later.
8. Give NPR (natural pressure release) after 10 minutes. Release the pressure after 10 minutes and open the IP lid. The lentils have to be cooked very well and become soft and mushy. If the consistency of dal looks thick, then add some hot water to thin it. If dal looks thin, then use the sauté option and simmer dal for a few minutes.
9. With a spoon lightly mash the dal. If the dal looks thick, you can add some hot water.
10. Season with salt as per taste and stir very well. Cover the cooked dal with the IP lid and begin with the tempering Preparing tempering (tadka)
11. In a small pan or tadka pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil. Keep the flame to low or medium-low. Add ½ teaspoon small mustard seeds.
12. Let the mustard seeds crackle.
13. Then add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds.
14. The cumin seeds will crackle as soon as you add them in oil. Let them change their color.
15. Then add 4 to 5 medium garlic cloves, crushed lightly with their peels on. You can also slice or chop the garlic. Fry for some seconds stirring often. The garlic can be a light golden but do not brown them or burn them.
16. Add 1 to 2 dry red chilies (broken and deseeded).
17. Add 9 to 10 curry leaves.  fry for a few seconds till the red chilies change color and the curry leaves become crisp.
18. Pour the entire tempering mixture in the dal.
19. Mix very well.
20. Lastly, add 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
21. Stir and instant pot dal tadka with steamed rice or roti. You can garnish with some coriander leaves while serving. This recipe post is from the archives (July 2012) and has been republished and updated on 4 June 2020. This post contains amazon affiliate links.