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This is the well tested Toor Dal recipe, loved by my readers and recipe testers from all around the world that is going to 100% transform your homemade dal! Picture this: the aroma of aromatic spices fills the air as you step into a bustling North Indian kitchen. You get a steaming pile of fragrant rice and spoon on delicious golden arhar dal, topping it with sliced garlic, and aromatic spices that have been slowly simmered in oil.
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Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Dal itself is naturally gluten-free, but your asafoetida is the catch. Compounded powder is usually cut with wheat flour, so use hing resin instead.
A pressure cooker turns 40 minutes of simmering into 15. Double the batch while you're at it, it freezes for months, just keep the tadka separate.
Water works as well as broth here, the tadka is doing all the heavy lifting. And buy your dal and whole spices at an Indian grocery where they are cheap.
Want less oil? Forgo the tadka and garnish the dal with some chopped fresh cilantro. Still a bowl full of protein and fiber, minus the ¼ cup of oil.
Can't find Kashmiri chili powder? Smoked paprika gets you the same color and you can add a pinch of cayenne for heat. Red lentils fill in for the toor dal too.
Some people like dal more like a soup, and some like it thick and mushy. This recipe is somewhere in-between. To make it soupier, add additional water.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
I can't adequately describe the heavenly meal you are going to have right outta your home kitchen! I make a thali platter for my family with this killer dal recipe along with my veg biryani, vegan butter chicken, ridge gourd curry, and flaky fresh parotta or potato-stuffed kulcha. If you are looking for a sattvic dal, you might want to check out my recipes for sattvic masoor dahl or chana dal.
This hearty and flavorful dish will make your taste buds dance with joy. Plus, it's so easy to make that even your cat can do it (just kidding, please don't let your cat cook).
This recipe is BURSTING with flavor, so spicy and delicious. I had to use Masoor Dal (one of the recommended suggestions) as I didn't have any Toor Dal on hand. I served it over the base rice from Adam's vegan biryani recipe. I will definitely make this again!
Jump to:
- Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
- 🥰Why you'll adore this pigeon pea recipe
- 🇮🇳Want to learn some other classic pure-veg Indian dishes?
- 🪷What is Arhar Dal?
- 🧈Ingredients for this pigeon pea recipe
- 📖 How to make this toovar dal recipe
- 💡What to serve with this recipe:
- ❗️Top tip to nail this arhar dal recipe
- 🤷♀️Recipe FAQ
- ✌️These go great with this recipe:
- North Indian Arhar Dal Tadka (Toor Dal)
🥰Why you'll adore this pigeon pea recipe
🌿 It's Vegan and Gluten-Free: Like all of my vegan Indian recipes, not a single creature is harmed to make this delicious toor dal. And what's more there is no wheat in it, making it one of my best gluten-free vegan recipes to have in your arsenal.
👉It's crazy-easy to make: Despite its impressive taste, this arhar dal recipe is actually quite simple to make. It requires only a handful of ingredients and can be made in just a few easy steps.
👉It's versatile: Arhar Dal Tadka can be enjoyed as a main dish or as a side dish to complement other Indian dishes. Plus, it's easy to customize with your favorite ingredients or spices.
👉It's healthy: Lentils are a good source of protein, fiber, and other important nutrients. This recipe is a great way to nourish your body with wholesome, plant-based ingredients. Despite sometimes being referred to as Dal Fry, this recipe requires no frying and only contains a small amount of oil in the tadka, which hasn't been heated excessively.
👉It stores well and freezes well: I like to make a big batch of this dal to portion and freeze so that whenever my family or I are in a rush, we have a nutritious, fast-to-thaw, and reheat meal on hand.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🇮🇳Want to learn some other classic pure-veg Indian dishes?
I have taught a whole bunch online cooking classes covering my favorite sattvic Indian recipes! The Sattvic Vegan Indian class recording and recipes are all available in my class library. I also have a fantastic Punjabi vegan cooking class you might dig.
🪷What is Arhar Dal?
Arhar Dal, is also known as Toor Dal, Tur Dal, or in Telugu- Kandhi Pappu. It is a medium-sized yellow split pigeon pea that is commonly used in Indian cuisine. It is a rich source of protein, fiber, and other essential nutrients. It is low in fat and calories, making it a healthy addition to any diet.
Arhar dal is believed to have originated in India thousands of years ago and has been cultivated and used in Indian cuisine for centuries. It was also an important crop in ancient West Africa, where it was brought by Indian traders and used as a food source.
This recipe follows the common method of soaking and rinsing the dal, cooking it with water, spices, and herbs, and then topping it with a tadka (an aromatic oil that has been simmered with spices and garlic).
The preparation method outlined in this recipe is a staple in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, and others.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
🧈Ingredients for this pigeon pea recipe
Hari Mirch
Indian green chilies (also called Hari Mirch) are small, slender, and bright green. Known for their intense heat and flavor, you can go lightly or omit them if you prefer less spice. I use these in soooo many sabjis from jackfruit curry, to chana saag and soya chaap curry. They also make an unbelievable homemade pickle, which you can follow my hari mirch achar recipe for.
Lemon juice
Arhar Dal typically isn't made with citrus juice, but a small amount of lemon juice can boost the flavor subtly. I find it adds a wonderful taste to balance the dish.
Whole Dried Chilies
Byadagi chilies from Karnataka are my favorite, but you can use whole dried Kashmiri chilies or anaheim chilies (what I use to make New Mexico style red chili sauce) as alternatives.
Garlic and Onion
These are common in tadka, which involves tempering spices and aromatics in hot oil. They add depth and complexity to the dish. For a sattvic version, omit the onions and garlic in both the tadka and the dal.
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Kashmiri red chili powder
This chili powder has a vibrant red color, moderate heat, and a mild, fruity sweetness. I use a ton of it for making dishes that want the flavor and color of chilies without too much heat, like masala foxnuts, and vegan tikka masala. If unavailable, a mix of cayenne pepper and smoked paprika can be used for a similar color and heat.
Arhar Dal (toor dal)
If pigeon peas are unavailable, you can use split red lentils (masoor dal), split moong dal, or channa dal. Note that channa dal may need an extra cup of water and 15-20 more minutes of cooking time.
See the recipe card at the bottom of this page for the complete list of ingredients and their quantities.
📖 How to make this toovar dal recipe
You wanna see how this yummy dal tadka recipe gets made? I'll grab you by the hand and walk you through the whole process! Or you can follow along with the easy-to-print recipe card towards the bottom of this page.
Step 1
Soak the toor dal for 20 minutes, then drain and rinse it. Pick through the dal to remove any pebbles or foreign contaminants.
Step 2
Put the dal, tomato, green chili, spices, lemon juice, water, cilantro, and salt in a pot or pressure cooker.
Step 3
For a pressure cooker: cook on high until the pressure builds, put on the stopcock, then reduce to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes. For a pot, cover the pot, boil, and then simmer for 40 minutes.
Step 4
Prepare the tadka in a separate saucepan, and cook for 10 minutes until fragrant and golden.
Step 5
Serve the dal topped with the tadka and garnish with cilantro leaves.
💡What to serve with this recipe:
If you prefer less oil, forgo the tadka, and instead garnish the dal with homemade vegan labneh. It's great to eat the dal over coconut rice, or alongside some freshly grilled Parotta, Kuboos, or flaky Msemen. I love serving dal alongside veg sabjis like South Indian Aviyal, saago aloo, olan, aviyal, and Punjabi Bhindi.
Chickpea dishes like kala chana, and vegan chana masala help boost protein.
🔥Serve it with your favorite Indian pickles such as mango pickle, amla pickle, or carrot pickles. Or top it with delicious, fiery shatta.
This is also a great sides to classic Indian Chaats like crispy onion bhaji, sweet potato chaat, and medhu vada.
❗️Top tip to nail this arhar dal recipe
Some people like dal more like a soup, and some like it thick and mushy. This recipe is somewhere in-between. To make it soupier, just add additional water until the desired constancy is reached. To make it even thicker, just cook it a little longer uncovered so that more of the liquid evaporates out.
🤷♀️Recipe FAQ
Yes, arhar dal is naturally gluten-free and can be a good option for individuals with gluten sensitivities or celiac disease. It is primarily made from split pigeon peas which are completely gluten-free. However, asafoetida powder which is a common ingredient in dal sometimes contains wheat starch to prevent clumping. So, carefully check your asafoetida if you need to avoid gluten for health reasons.
Arhar dal is organic and often vegan, but sometimes it is prepared with ingredients like ghee, which is clarified butter. If you follow a strictly plant-based diet, check that arhar dal has been prepared with oil instead of ghee and has not been cooked with any animal-based ingredients such as yogurt.
This preparation stores so well, and is great for meal prep! It does thicken a bunch after it cools, but all you have to do when you reheat it is mix in a little extra water to bring it to your desired consistency.
Whenever I know someone who has just given birth, I like to stock their freezer with portioned containers of this and also my masoor Dahl recipe. Someone did something like that for my family when we had our first daughter, and it made such a big difference to us. I never forgot it. Anyway, here is how to deal with storing and reheating arhar dal:
Let the dal cool to room temperature before storing it. Transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze arhar dal for up to 2-3 months.
Tadka: It's best to store the tadka (tempering) separately from the dal to maintain its texture and flavor. You can spoon the tadka on top of the reheated dal later. Although the tadka stores for 4 days under refrigeration, it is not great when frozen. I mean, it's edible, but personally, I just don't love the way cooked onions and garlic are after they have been frozen, so do it at your own risk!
❄️Freezing:
If you are planning to freeze the boiled dal, let it cool to room temperature and then transfer it to an airtight container or a freezer-safe ziplock bag. Label the container with the date and freeze for up to 2-3 months.
🔥Reheating on the stovetop:
To reheat the indian toor dal, transfer it to a saucepan and add a little bit of water to thin it out if needed. Heat the dal over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is heated through. Spoon the reserved tadka on top of the hot dal before serving.
☢️Reheating in microwave:
To reheat the gujarati-style dal in the microwave, transfer it to a microwave-safe container and add a little bit of water if needed. Cover the container with a microwave-safe lid or plastic wrap and heat on high for 1-2 minutes, or until heated through. Stir the dal and spoon the reserved tadka on top before serving.
✌️These go great with this recipe:
North Indian Arhar Dal Tadka (Toor Dal)
Equipment
Ingredients
Arhar dal ingredients
- 1 Cup toor dal
- 1 medium tomato diced
- 1 green chili chopped
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 whole dried chilies such as Byadgi, Kashmiri, or Arbol
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 cups water or unsalted vegetable broth
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
Ingredients for the tadka
- ¼ cup canola oil vegetable oil, or other neutral-tasting cooking oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida
- 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 2-3 whole dried red chilies or to taste
- ⅓ cup finely diced onion
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
To garnish
- Fresh Cilantro Leaves
Instructions
- Soak the toor dal for 20 minutes.
- Drain and rinse it under cold running water.
- Pick through the dal to ensure it has no pebbles or foreign contaminants hidden amongst it.
- Place all of the toor dal, tomato, green chili, turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, dried chilies, lemon juice, water (or broth), cilantro, and salt into a pot or pressure cooker.
- If using a pressure cooker, close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook the dal over high heat until the pressure builds up and the steam starts to escape from the vent. Put on the stopcock, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 15 minutes until the dal is soft and cooked through. Turn off the heat and let the pressure release naturally.
- If using a pot, bring the contents of the pot up to a boil over a high flame. Cover the pot and cook the dal on a low flame for 40 minutes until soft and cooked through.
- If you want a soupier consistency, mix in a little additional water.
- While the dal cooks, prepare the tadka by heating the oil in a separate saucepan over a medium flame. After 90 seconds when the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, coriander, and cumin seeds.
- After 30 seconds, when the mustard seeds are rapidly popping, stir in the remaining ingredients and lower the flame to a simmer. Cook the tadka for 10 minutes until the onions are fragrant and lightly golden.
- To serve the arhar dal, place it into an attractive serving dish, and top it with the tadka. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.
Video
Notes
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AK says
You list the ingredients, but not the quantity of any ingredients, a good recipe requires both and how many servings per recipe.
So it may turn out to be good, but as it is, it is worthless.
Adam Sobel says
I think maybe you are only looking at the section up above covering the ingredients? Theres a full recipe card on this page with exact quantities and instructions to follow.
h says
Having now tried all 3 of Adam's dal recipes, this one was absolutely our favorite -- although all 3 of them rocketed straight to the top of our favorite meals. Will continue to keep toor dal on hand to make this, but I also look forward to trying the technique in this recipe with other varieties of dal.
Paige Davis says
Delicious and easy to make! Thank you Chef, for making recipes of cuisines/dishes/foods that are not necessarily familiar to folks...it gives me the courage to try some things that were not part of my growing up in the USA midwest. My fiance loved it, too!
Michelle says
Nice flavours, not too spicy for a non-Indian palette. Needed a bit of sweetness for my liking. Far too much water is using the pressure cooker method, will halve next time.
Anita says
Absolutely delicious dal!
Ahmed says
Amazing
Adam Sobel says
Glad you loved it!
Shirley says
This recipe is so flavorful and delicious! Perfect blend of spices. Very easy to make and with an instant pot it doesn’t take long. I served it with basmati rice and also made an aloo gobi. This will be a regular in our house so next time I’ll make extra to freeze!
Jason says
This was a massive success. My husband loves it.
Leagull says
love this. not only the flavor of the kashmiri chili, but its scoville range (~1-2k) is safely within the 'tolerance' of the most sensitive in my fam (stuck with a ~≤4k ceiling...), i just crank up my own little baghar...
Cheryl says
Easy to put together for a delicious meal , the Tadka topping was perfect!
Kimberly W says
This recipe is BURSTING with flavor, so spicy and delicious. I had to use Masoor Dal (one of the recommended suggestions) as I didn't have any Toor Dal on hand. I served it over the base rice from Adam's vegan biryani recipe. I will definitely make this again!
Pam kirks says
This recipe was so easy to make and was delicious. My non vegan daughter loved it!
Jason says
Made this for the family and it was incredibly tasty. The tadka added a crunchy, savory flavor and texture that really bumped it up! Thanks Adam!
Steven Russell says
This was so easy and so delicious. I really enjoyed making it. It tastes especially good the next day. I will be making this again.