Lasooni Dal Tadka is a popular restaurant-style Indian dal recipe prepared using lentils (dahl), garlic, ghee, and aromatic spices. Serve this yellow dal tadka with Indian bread (naan, roti, chapati) or rice for a healthy vegetarian meal.
Love Indian dal? Then check out how to cook dal, low-calorie protein-packed cauliflower dal, or nutritious mixed vegetable dal.
About Tadka Dal
Garlic in Hindi means lasooni; lentil means dal and tempering or seasoning means tadka or bagar or chaunk in Hindi. Lasooni dahl tadka also known as tarka daal means lentils tempered with garlic.
While making dal at home on busy days, I give a very simple tadka with garlic, curry leaves, hing, and mustard seeds for boiled dal. Today's post about garlic dal is about making restaurant-style dal tadka at home.
Tadka dal is a North-Indian dhal recipe popular among restaurants, dhabas where the dal is first pressure cooked and then tempered twice with ghee, garlic, and basic Indian aromatic spices. This is then served with steamed rice, ghee rice, jeera rice, or any Indian flatbread from roti or chapati to soft and fluffy naan bread for a complete and simple Indian vegetarian meal.
Dal means any Indian lentil, and to make tadka dahl, any variety of dal can be used, with the most popular one being toor dal (arhar dal or split pigeon peas). You can also make tadka with moong dal, and masoor dal, or combine the days to make it more nutritious. Dal tarka prepared with the toor dal is yellow, also called yellow dal tadka.
Dal Makhani vs. Dal Tadka
Dal makhani and tadka dal are two popular Indian dal dishes made with dal (lentils) but have differences in ingredients, flavors, and texture.
Dal makhani is a popular Punjabi dish that is rich and creamy and prepared using black lentils (urad dal) and kidney beans (rajma), cream, and aromatic spices. Making it at home is time-consuming as you have to simmer it for a long time to get the best flavors.
Dal Tadka is popular across India, with each region having its own variations. A lighter version of dal with a thinner consistency and more vibrant flavors is prepared on daily using basic pantry ingredients.
Dal Fry vs. Dal Tadka
Dal fry means adding the cooked dal to the sauteed or fried ingredients and then simmering it for some time to combine the flavors.
Dal tadka is dal fry poured with aromatic tadka or seasoning. Some restaurants also list dal tadka as dal fry tadka.
Ingredients
Dal: For traditional dhaba or restaurant-style flavor, use toor dal (split pigeon peas or arhar daal). To make it nutritious, you can combine moong dal and masoor dal. Learn more about the list of Indian dal and lentils.
Tempering (tadka) 1: To make the tarka, aromatic spices like cumin, coriander powder, garam masala powder, turmeric, red chile powder, and kasuri methi is used along with the basic onion, garlic, ginger, green chilies, and tomatoes.
Tempering (tadka) 2: You will need ghee, hing, cumin seeds, red chilies, and lots of garlic cloves.
Ghee: For the best dal, always temper it with desi ghee. Only to make it vegan, use the oil of your choice.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-by-step instructions
Cook dal
Step 1: Add dahl to your pressure cooker and wash it nicely with water until the water runs clear. Drain it
Step 2: To this, add three cups of water and pressure cook on a medium flame for 3 whistles.
Making of dal fry
Step 3: In a pan on medium flame, add ghee. To this, add cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add the garlic cloves and saute for a few seconds.
Step 4: Add onion, ginger, green chilies and saute until translucent.
Step 5: Add tomatoes, coriander leaves and cook until it becomes soft.
Step 6: Now add turmeric, coriander, red chile, and garam masala powder with salt and mix for 1 to 2 minutes.
Step 7: Add the cooked dal
Step 8: Add kasuri methi and ½ cup of water.
Step 9: Mix, bring dal to a boil and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.
Making the lasooni tadka dal
Step 10: Heat ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds, hing on medium flame.
When they splutter, add garlic cloves.
Step 11: Saute on medium-low flame until garlic turns translucent.
Step 10: Add red chilies and saute for a few seconds. Add the red chile powder and switch off the flame.
Step 11: Pour this over the dal. Mix, and serve hot with naan, roti, chapati, or steamed rice and enjoy.
Pro tips to make the best garlic tadka dal recipe
- I love to add fresh garlic and ginger over the store-bought paste in my recipes. For the best result, add freshly grated, chopped, or crushed ginger and garlic to the recipe.
- Dal tempered with homemade desi ghee has the best flavor and will be missing when oil is used. But if you are a vegan, use oil instead.
- We prefer and use toor dal while making most of our dal curry recipes daily. You can combine the dal or use make moong dal or masoor dal for a healthy weight loss dal.
- Dal thickens as it cools. So adjust to the desired consistency.
- Vary all the spices to adjust to taste.
Serving suggestions
- Dal tarka is a comforting and satisfying dish that can be served with plain steamed rice, flavored jeera rice or ghee rice, naan, roti, chapati, or even bhatura.
- Dal thickens as it cools down. Adjust the consistency to your liking. My family prefers a thicker version while eating it with roti, chapati, phulka, and a thinner version while serving it with rice varieties.
- Serve it with any Indian stir fry, curry, or gravy of your liking. Dal is one Indian dish that goes well with anything.
Instant pot dal tadka (garlic dal)
- Wash and drain the dal and keep it aside.
- Turn on the saute mode of your IP and heat the ghee.
- Add cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add garlic and saute until it becomes light.
- Add onion, ginger, and green chilies and saute until translucent.
- Add tomatoes, coriander leaves, turmeric, coriander, red chile, garam masala powder, and salt, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the dal, water, and kasuri methi and give it a nice stir.
- Close the lid of your IP with a vent in the sealing position. Cancel the saute and pressure cook for 6 minutes.
- Manually release the pressure after 5 to 10 minutes. Open the lid, stir the dal. If it is thick, you can water it and adjust it to desired consistency.
- Make the tempering 2 (garlic tadka) in a small pan and add it on top of the cooked dal.
Recipe FAQs
Tadka dal is made using toor dal (arhar dal), desi ghee, garlic and aromatic spices.
The secret to making the tasty, best, and most delicious dal is to be generous with the tempering or seasoning, especially with ghee and garlic.
Dal is rich in protein, fiber, and vitamin B1. It is cooked in ghee, which is a healthy fat. So daal is a healthy dish you can add to your daily meal.
Tadka dal is called Indian tempered lentil or lentil curry in English.
Yes, simply substitute ghee with coconut oil or vegetable oil to make vegan dal tadka.
One serving of dal contains 306 calories with 10g of protein.
More Indian Dal Recipes
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Recipe card
Lasooni Dal Tadka | Indian Garlic Dal Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure cooker or Instant pot
- Tadka Pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup Toor Dal
- 3 cups Water
First Tempering (tadka) for dal
- 2 tablespoon Desi homemade ghee Use oil for vegan version
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 6 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 2 Green chilies, slit
- 1 inch Ginger, chopped
- 1 Tomato chopped
- 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon Red chile powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
- 1 tablespoon Dried kasuri methi
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Water
Second tempering (tadka) for dal
- 2 tablespoon Ghee oil for vegan version
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- Pinch of Hing or Asafoetida
- 2 tablespoon Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 Dry red chilies
- ¼ teaspoon Red chile powder
Instructions
Cook dal
- Add dahl to your pressure cooker and wash it nicely with water until the water runs clear. Drain it1 cup Toor Dal
- To this, add three cups of water and pressure cook on a medium flame for 3 whistles.3 cups Water
Making of dal fry
- In a pan on medium flame, add ghee. To this, add cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add the garlic cloves and saute for a few seconds.2 tablespoon Desi homemade ghee, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds, 6 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Add onion, ginger, green chilies and saute until translucent.1 Onion, chopped, 2 Green chilies, slit, 1 inch Ginger, chopped
- Add tomatoes, coriander leaves and cook until it becomes soft.1 Tomato chopped, 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves, finely chopped
- Now add turmeric, coriander, red chile, and garam masala powder with salt and mix for 1 to 2 minutes.½ teaspoon Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon Coriander powder, 1 teaspoon Red chile powder, 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder, 1 teaspoon Salt
- Add the cooked dal, ½ cup water, and kasuri methi, and bring it to a nice boil.1 tablespoon Dried kasuri methi, ½ cup Water
Making the lasooni dal tadka
- Heat ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds, hing on medium flame.2 tablespoon Ghee, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds, Pinch of Hing or Asafoetida
- When they splutter, add garlic cloves and saute until translucent.2 tablespoon Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- Add red chilies and saute for a few seconds. Add the red chile powder and switch off the flame.2 Dry red chilies, ¼ teaspoon Red chile powder
- Pour this over the dal. Mix, and serve hot with naan, roti, chapati, or steamed rice and enjoy.
Instant pot dal tadka (garlic dal)
- Wash and drain the dal and keep it aside.
- Turn on the saute mode of your IP and heat the ghee.
- Add cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add garlic and saute until it becomes light.
- Add onion, ginger, and green chilies and saute until translucent.
- Now add tomatoes and coriander leaves along with turmeric, coriander, red chile, garam masala powder, and salt, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the dal, water, and kasuri methi and give it a nice stir.
- Close the lid of your IP with a vent in the sealing position. Cancel the saute and pressure cook for 6 minutes.
- Manually release the pressure after 5 to 10 minutes. Open the lid, stir the dal. If it is thick, you can water it and adjust it to desired consistency.
- Make the second tempering (garlic tadka) in a small pan and add it on top of the cooked dal.
Video
Notes
- I love to add fresh garlic and ginger over the store-bought paste in my recipes. For the best result, add freshly grated, chopped, or crushed ginger and garlic to the recipe.
- Dal tempered with homemade desi ghee has the best flavor and will be missing when oil is used. But if you are a vegan, use oil instead.
- We prefer and use toor dal while making most of our dal curry recipes daily. You can combine the dal or use moong dal to make moong dal tadka or masoor dal for a healthy weight loss dal.
- Dal thickens as it cools. So adjust to the desired consistency.
- Vary all the spices to adjust to taste.
- To make a simple dal recipe for a quick dinner, cook the dal in a pressure cooker and add only the second garlic tadka or tempering. This tastes best with steamed rice and roti.
Nutrition
Note: We originally posted this recipe in December 2015. It has now been modified in July 2023 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Calorie information and step by step pictures, etc.
Catherine | Fit Armadillo
This is great! My husband is Indian and often makes dal, but I didn't know how to make it for myself. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Kushi
Thank you so much Catherine 🙂
Kirsten Smith
Looks delicious!