Among the diverse and flavorful culinary creations that grace the realm of Indian cuisine, one dish stands out as a timeless classic: Dal. This humble lentil-based stew has captured the hearts and taste buds of countless individuals across the globe. Yellow Dal, a vibrant variation of this beloved dish, stands as a testament to the versatility and richness of Indian culinary traditions. This article will guide you through the culinary journey of creating the ultimate Yellow Dal, exploring the secrets behind its vibrant hue, aromatic spices, and comforting flavors.
Let's cook with our recipes!
YELLOW DAAL TADKA
A simple, healthy split yellow lentil (daal) recipe prepared with aromatics, seasoned with tomatoes and garlic, and flavored with spiced oil known as Tadka. A simple, quick, and perfect meatless Monday meal with side of steamed rice. This classic lentils recipe never gets old. It freezes well, is gluten free, vegan, and has potential to load-up with any seasonal veggies in-hand.Two months ago, CDH completed 7 years. While I wanted to share something special for the occasion.. Our move made me change my plans. Last week, while cooking a simple weekday dinner of this Daal Tadka and Rice reminded me of old days when I started blogging.. This was one of the first recipe I posted on blog. So, I decided to take few clicks and revive this old post with some new pictures.. and give you flavor of old CDH. :)Yellow Daal with Tadka (tempered spiced oil) is most humble lentil preparation and an every day recipe in every Indian household. Every region has their own version of this lentil stew. My recipe is most common in Northern region. Over time, my lentil Tadka recipe has grown as my taste and love for food has grown.. These days, I prepare it various ways depending upon the season and mood. Initially, I had planned to share another version of this Lentils today but felt.. I cannot do justice with new recipe until I revive my old post. I still plan to share the few other favorite versions of Daal Tadka. Check back soon. I will update all my shares here.Like I said, this simple dish can also be served as a spiced soup. Serve bread to scoop the daal and splash of lemon juice to cut balance the flavor of spices. Even today, whenever I prepare Daal Tadka for dinner.. I save some leftovers for lunch. For lunch, I thin-out the daal with some water or vegetable stock, taste and adjust seasoning, warm it up, add splash of lemon juice. This easy step turns it into a lentil soup. A side of warm bread and this soup feels like a most comforting easy meal ever!Make Ahead: Daal Tadka can be prepared 1-2 days in advance. It gets thick as it sits for long which can be fixed while re-heating the daal. Simply dilute with water and adjust seasonings (if needed). Reheat and enjoy!All lentils are gluten free. So is this daal recipe. It is also nut free and vegan. In traditional preparation, clarified butter (called Ghee) is used to instead of oil for tempering. I like to only use oil and no butter which makes this recipe vegan and lighter. I recommend loading daal with seasonal veggies such as small diced carrots, zucchini, or cauliflower. Boil with lentils for more flavor. Make it a loaded veggie and protein-full meatless weeknight dinner. If prefer, serve with rice, bread, or naan. Or a green citurs salad goes great as well. No matter how you serve.. One thing is certain! You will fall in LOVE with the flavors and simplicity of this dish! Must try!PS: Yellow Daal Tadka recipe was first published in June 2011. Today, I have updated the pictures, and added more explanation in method of preparation.
Provided by Savita
Categories Main Course Curry Dinner
Time 35m
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Wash lentils in running water until water runs clear. Then boil with 3 cups of fresh batch of water and 1/2 tsp salt until lentils are very tender or done to your preference. (15-20 minutes). Boil on low-medium heat as yellow lentils tend to boil-over very quickly.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in pan, add half of cumin seeds (these should start sputtering), add onion and fry until light brown in color (4-5 minutes). Now, add ginger, garlic, green chilies. Fry for 2 minutes.
- Now add grated tomatoes and fry until oil separates. Add turmeric and half teaspoon of red chili powder and fry for 30 seconds.
- Mix daal/lentils in the fried mixture. Cook for 1-2 minute at low heat.
- Turn off the heat. Remove lentils in a bowl. Whip the pan clean, heat up remaining oil. When oil is hot, add in cumin seeds and remaining chili powder. Fry for 20 seconds then pour over daal. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve hot. Enjoy!
EVERYDAY YELLOW DAL
Think of dal as similar in use to gravy-in other words, not a side dish or its own course. It is eaten on rice or with flatbreads, or with dry curries, and vegetables; it is meant as part of a meal.
Provided by Tara O'Brady
Categories Lentil Soup/Stew Dinner Sugar Conscious Kidney Friendly Vegetarian Pescatarian Wheat/Gluten-Free Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free No Sugar Added Kosher
Yield Serves 4-6
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- To make the dal, in a medium heavy saucepan, cover the dal with water. Swish the lentils around with your hand, then drain the water through a fine-mesh sieve. Return any dal from the sieve to the saucepan and repeat, washing, agitating, and draining, until the water runs absolutely clear. It will probably take 7 to 10 changes of water. Pour the 3 cups (710 ml) of water into the pot to cover the lentils. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, skim any scum that rises to the surface, then lower the heat to maintain a simmer. Add the turmeric and cook until the dal is quite creamy, 45 to 60 minutes. Stir the dal regularly as it simmers or it can catch at the bottom of the pan and burn. If the dal starts to look dry before the lentils are cooked, add hot water (from the tap is fine). Season well with salt.
- About 20 minutes before the dal is done, make the tarka. Melt the ghee over low heat. Fry the cumin seeds for maybe 1 minute, until sizzling and fragrant. Add the onion and chile and cook, stirring, until the onion is very soft and translucent, 15 minutes. When the dal is ready, tip the tarka over the dal, stir to partially combine, then sprinkle the cilantro on top. Serve right away with lime wedges and naan or over rice.
- For the Tomato Tarka Variation:
- Melt 3 tablespoons ghee over low heat, then add 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds and 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds. Fry for 1 minute. Add 1 minced onion and 3 minced garlic cloves and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Scrape in 1 teaspoon grated ginger and cook to take away some of its rawness, about 1 minute. Stir in 2 small tomatoes that have been diced, 1 or 2 green chiles split lengthwise, and 2 curry leaves (optional). Fry until the tomato starts to break up, 5 to 7 minutes more. Stir most of the mixture into the cooked dal and let simmer for 5 minutes. Check for seasoning, then tip the remaining tarka over the dal. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
YELLOW LENTIL DAL
Make and share this Yellow Lentil Dal recipe from Food.com.
Provided by chia2160
Categories Lentil
Time 1h5m
Yield 4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- In a saucepan add lentils and chicken stock, ginger and turmeric.
- Bring to boil cover partially and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat until lentils are tender.
- Puree 1 c of lentils in a blender, add back to pan and cook 15 minutes more.
- In a skillet heat oil.
- Add mustard seed and shake pan until they start to pop, 20 seconds.
- Add the onion and cook until softened, 5- minutes.
- Add serrano chile, and garlic, cook 1 minute.
- Add cumin and bay leaves, and tomato, cook minutes more.
- Stir this mixture into the lentils, add lemon juice and salt to taste, simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve over basmati rice.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 271.4, Fat 4.5, SaturatedFat 0.9, Cholesterol 5.4, Sodium 265.3, Carbohydrate 40.3, Fiber 15.7, Sugar 5.7, Protein 18
EASY CURRIED YELLOW DAL (YELLOW SPLIT PEAS)
I am usually too lazy to make my own curry, plus the take away from my local Indian restaurant is way better than anything I can usually make at home. But I had this package of dry yellow split peas in my cupboard for ages and finally decided to use them up one night. This is a very basic, mild curry recipe that can easily be modified to suit your individual tastes. Nutritious and vegetarian as well. Can be made vegan by substituting vegetable oil or margarine for the butter.
Provided by EZBeingGreen
Categories Curries
Time 1h10m
Yield 3-4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped onion and salt. Saute until soft, about five minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add remaining spices and stir. Saute for about 1 minute, cooking spices. If spices start to stick to pan, add some water - 1/4 cup should do. Add peas and stir to coat with butter, onion, and spice mixture. Add broth, 1/2 cup water and bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer.
- Simmer for 40-50 minutes or until peas are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. (Check peas periodically - you may need to add more water during cooking if peas are absorbing the liquid too quickly). Garnish with chopped cilantro/coriander leaves before serving.
- Options: Serve with hot basmati or brown rice for a filling one-dish meal. Or, double the broth/water to make a curried pea soup. To turn this into a spicy curry, add some finely chopped jalapeno, serrano, or chile pepper at the same time as the garlic.
- Update 1/6/2010: Some people have reported issues with the peas taking longer to soften. I have never had an issue but try cooking the onions without salt and waiting until the last 10 minutes or so of cooking time to add the salt. I have heard salt interfers with lentils softening perhaps it is the same for split peas. Curry powder - I usually use a mild Indian yellow variety, the all-purpose kind found in most US supermarkets. But I have also made this with a hot Madras and it was also delicious (but spicy!).
TOOR DAL (SPLIT YELLOW PIGEON PEAS)
Dal can be made with all kinds of lentils and cooking methods. These vary not just from region to region, but also from day to day, mood to mood. Some cooks like dal soupy, others chunky. There are dals for special occasions, seasoned with charcoal smoke and butter or padded out luxuriously with cream, as well as lighter, leaner dals that can restore you when you're not feeling well.The flavor of this everyday, Gujarati-style dal comes from the pure nuttiness of split pigeon peas, boiled until tender and bolstered with spices bloomed in hot ghee. This fat-tempering technique, called vaghar in Gujarati, has many names and many uses across the country. In this case, the tempering is a great introduction to the resourcefulness and finesse of Indian home cooks: Just a few tablespoons of carefully seasoned fat, tipped in at the very last moment, transform an entire pot.
Provided by Tejal Rao
Categories dinner, soups and stews, main course, side dish
Time 4h
Yield 4 to 6 servings (about 3 cups)
Number Of Ingredients 12
Steps:
- Prepare the dal: Soak the pigeon peas in a large bowl of warm water for about 1 hour. (They will have swelled a little.) Thoroughly rinse the soaked pigeon peas with fresh water, then tip the drained pigeon peas into a pot.
- Add tomatoes, turmeric, salt and 5 cups water, and bring to a boil over high. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until very tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender to purée some of the dal, leaving some intact and getting some very smooth, or whisk vigorously to break up some of the soft dal. Stir in the peanuts and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the dal is very tender, about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust with salt. If the dal has become too thick for your liking, stir in a splash of water.
- Prepare the tempering: In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the ghee. When hot, carefully add all of the tempering ingredients (the mustard seeds will sputter!) and swirl the pan until you can smell all the toasted spices, about 30 seconds. Pour everything over the hot dal.
YELLOW SPLIT PEA DHAL
Tasty split pea dhal.
Provided by joespenceley
Time 1h
Yield Serves 4
Number Of Ingredients 0
Steps:
- Rince split pea until water runs clear.
- Boil 1 litre of water, add cinnamon stick, turmeric, chilli pieces and 2 slices of ginger. Simmer for 30-45 minutes (check packaging of split pea for recommended cooking lengths.)
- Heat oil in frying pan and add cumin seed. Fry for 30 seconds and add onion, chilli (add aditional chilli here if required), ginger. Fry until onion is soft. Add garlic, coriander, garam masala and salt and fry for further two minutes. Add tomato plus 100ml water and allow to cook for 20-30 minutes.
- Add spice mix to split pea and stir though. Squeeze in lemon juice and serve topped with coriander leaf.
- Eat as a main with roti or as a side.
Tips for Making Perfect Yellow Dal:
- Choose the Right Lentils: Use split yellow lentils or toor dal for an authentic taste and texture.
- Soak the Lentils: Soaking the lentils for at least 30 minutes helps reduce cooking time and improves digestibility.
- Use Fresh Spices: Whole spices like cumin, coriander, and turmeric add more flavor than pre-ground spices.
- Sauté the Spices: Sautéing the spices in ghee or oil releases their aroma and enhances the flavor of the dal.
- Add Tomatoes and Ginger: Tomatoes add a tangy flavor, while ginger provides warmth and depth.
- Simmer Until Tender: Simmer the dal on low heat until the lentils are tender but not mushy.
- Garnish with Cilantro and Lemon: Garnish the dal with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lemon juice for a pop of color and flavor.
Conclusion:
Yellow dal is a delicious, nutritious, and versatile dish that can be enjoyed with a variety of accompaniments. By following the tips and trying different variations, you can create a perfect yellow dal that suits your taste preferences. Whether you prefer it mild or spicy, with or without vegetables, yellow dal is a dish that everyone can enjoy. So experiment, have fun, and savor the delicious flavors of this classic Indian dish.
Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...
Check it out »
You'll also love