Indian Lentil Soup? Oh, let me count the ways…..you can vary the lentils, change up the spices, mash it up into a thin broth or thicken it up with veggies. You can sweeten it, sour it, make it too hot to hold.
But before there was spicy or soupy or veggie-filled, there was Dal Tadka. A simple, yet immensely flavorful lentil soup which is minimally tempered and easy to make, yet sophisticated in its very simplicity. Let your dal journey begin here.
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Dal Tadka (Basic Indian Lentil Soup)
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 25
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Lentils are cooked, then tempered with chilies, ginger-garlic, cumin and cilantro. Easy to prepare, nutritious to eat and yummy in its simplicity.
Ingredients
1/2 cup tuvar dal (yellow lentils)
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. ginger-garlic pasteÂ
1/2 green chili, finely chopped
1 dried red chili
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (or 1/4 tsp. if you like more heat)
Salt to taste (approximately 1/2-3/4 tsp.)
A quarter wedge of lemon
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 3/4–2 cups waterÂ
Instructions
1. Season 1/2 cup tuvar dal with 1/2 tsp. each of ground turmeric and salt. Add 1 1/4 cup water and cook until lentils are done. If cooking in Instant Pot, cook on “multigrain” setting for 20 mins. with vent closed.
2. While the dal is cooking, heat 1 tsp. oil in a small pan on med. heat for 2 mins. Add 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds and cook for 2 mins. till the seeds pop.
3. Add 1/2 tsp. green chili and 1 dried chili. Cook for 1 min.
4. Add 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste. Cook for 1-2 mins.
5. Turn off stove, add 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper and mix.
6. When dal is cooked, transfer to a deep bottomed pan. Add 1/2 cup water and mix.
7. Turn heat upto med. and cook dal for 2 mins. Add half the tempering oil with spices, mix and cook for another 3 mins. Â
8. Turn off the stove. Add a few drops of lemon.
9. Taste and adjust seasoning (if necessary add more salt/lemon–as per your preference)
10. Add the other half of the tempering oil on the surface of the dal.
8. Garnish with cilantro and serve. Dal Tadka is ready.
Notes
1. Normally, 1/2 the tempering spices are added to the body of the soup or stew and cooked. The other half is drizzled on top so that the person serving can mix it in and serve. This way, some of the spices are still fresh on the tongue. However, if you want to save on using too many pots and pans, just cook the tempering spices in a deep-bottomed pan, then add the dal to the same pan and mix thoroughly. It still tastes delicious.
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 56
- Sugar: 1.2
- Sodium: 297
- Fat: 2.4
- Saturated Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 6.6
- Fiber: 1.7
- Protein: 2.2
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: Dal, Dal Tadka, Dal Tarka, Dhal, Dhal Tarka, Dhal Tadka, Simple Dal, Basic Dal, Tempering, Lentil Soup, Indian Lentil Soup, Indian Spiced Lentil Soup, Cilantro Lentil Soup, Ginger Garlic Lentil Soup
Eating With Your Eyes:
1 dried red chili + 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (or 1/4 tsp. if you like more heat) + a quarter wedge of lemon + 1/4th cup chopped cilantro
Next Stops on the dal (lentil soup) journey:
After mastering the dal tadka, if you’re willing to branch out and get more adventurous, check out the following.
- A mildly sweet dal where crushed pineapples are used to offset the warm spices. Click on https://veggiemashups.com/pineapple-amti-dal/
- A healthy nutritious dal where the warm spices are offset by thefreshnessof the spinach. It’s a dish where I can trick my 4-year old into drinking spinach and actually enjoying it! Click on https://veggiemashups.com/ma-ki-palakwali-dal/
- A more complicated spicy and sour dal that uses pea-like lentils to give you a soup with more texture and pizazz. Click on https://veggiemashups.com/ambad-dal-in-ratnagiri/
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