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aerial shot of arhar dal in an iron kadhai
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5 from 6 votes

Arhar Dal Recipe

Arhar Dal Fry is a simple and delicious Indian dal made with pigeon peas. Find dhaba style arhar dal recipe
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 2
Calories: 564kcal
Author: Hina Gujral

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup toor dal (pigeon peas)
  • ½ Cup chopped tomato
  • 1 green chili chopped
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (get recipe)
  • 4 Cup water
  • 2 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander

Ingredients for the tempering (tadka)

  • 4 tablespoon ghee
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
  • ¼ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 2 dried red chilies
  • ¼ Cup finely chopped onion
  • ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder

Instructions

  • Clean, wash and soak toor dal in water for 15 – 20 minutes. Make sure to wash the pigeon peas nicely with water 2 - 3 times before soaking.
  • Transfer soaked dal to a pressure cooker, along with green chili, salt, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, and chopped tomato. Add 4 cups of water. Stir to combine. Seal the pressure cooker with the lid. Cook dal for two whistles over low heat. Allow the steam to release naturally.
  • Open the lid of the pressure cooker. Taste the dal and, if required, add more salt and seasoning to the dal. If the dal is too thick, add more water to get the desired consistency. Turn on the heat and allow arhar dal to simmer while you prepare the tadka.
  • Prepare tadka, heat ghee in a small pan. Add cumin, asafoetida, red chilies, chopped garlic, and onion. Fry till onion and garlic is light brown. Continuously stir the tadka while frying. At last, add red chili powder and turn off the heat.
  • Pour hot tadka over the arhar dal. Stir to combine. Sprinkle chopped fresh coriander. Stir to combine. Seal the pressure cooker with a lid for 5 minutes. This way flavor and aroma of tadka are nicely combined with the dal.
  • Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves.
  • Serve Arhar Ki Dal warm with rice.

Notes

  • Do not add too much water while cooking the dal. Usually, a ratio of 1:4 (dal to water) works perfectly). Please note arhar dal consistency becomes thick after a few hours of cooking. Hence, add more water if required. 
  • 2 - 3 whistles over low heat are perfect to cook toor dal. Cooking for too long makes dal mushy and like a thick paste. 
  • If you do not like spicy dal, skip adding red chilies to the tadka. 
  • You can customize tadka of dal as per personal preference. Use only cumin and chilies or only garlic and cumin. 
  • You can add a teaspoon of Garam Masala powder once the dal is cooked for warmth and a spicy taste. 

Nutrition

Calories: 564kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 1715mg | Potassium: 370mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 836IU | Vitamin C: 76mg | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 5mg