Dal Fry Recipe

Dal Fry is a popular Indian side dish made by cooking dal and simmering it with onion, tomato and tempered spices. Dal Fry is a staple food in every home and quite easy to make too. Learn to make Dal Fry Recipe with step by step pictures and video.

Dal Fry is one of the popular comforting side dish in Indian cuisine. Be it North India or South India, dal fry is very commonly made in every household, though the method and ingredients may have a slight variation, Dal Fry is comfort for all of us.

About Dal Fry

Dal Fry is a flavorful and nutritious dish that is commonly prepared and is a staple in Indian cuisine. The term “dal” refers to lentils, and “fry” in this doesn’t mean deep-frying, instead, it signifies the sauteing and tempering of spices.

Dal Fry is a great meal that is savored from babies to aged people. It is one of my family favorites including mittu that she keeps asking me to cook dal often. Hubby prefers it with rice and I like it with roti. The whole family always craves for this homely comfort dish after a long trip or vacation!

Dal fry with chawal is always close to heart for us. It provides a homely & comfort feel. Dal fry drizzled with ghee and when mixed with long grained fluffy basmati rice – it tastes so well that family comes for more!

Dal is a good source of protein and has low glycemic index which controls blood sugar levels. Adding dal in diet helps in good fetal growth, maintaining healthy cholesterol levels, stabilizing blood pressure,slowing the ageing, building glowing & radiating skin. Soaking the dal and cooking will ease the digestive system from gas.

Drizzle ghee on the dal fry & serve with rice – Hmmm! Dal & Chawal – heavenly taste & comfort. The beauty with Dal is that you will feel light even with excessive consumption of it!

Dal Fry is often confused with Dal Tadka, however there is a variation in the method of cooking for both these dishes. Here we go with time tested authentic Dal Fry Recipe, do try and enjoy!

Dal Fry Video

Similar Recipes

• Green gram curry
• Dal Tadka
• Lasooni Dal
• Dal palak
• Dal makhani

Dal Fry Combinations

I love experimenting and with dal combinations for Dal Fry – I have tried with different combinations of Dal and here is a list which turned out to be too good. I am sharing the combinations for you to try :

• 1 cup toor dal
• ¾ cup toor dal, ¼ cup moong dal
• ½ cup toor dal, ¼ cup moong dal, ¼ cup masoor dal
• ¾ cup toor dal, ¼ cup moong dal, 2 tablespoon chana dal
• ½ cup toor dal, ¼ cup moong dal & ¼ chana dal

Dal Fry Ingredients

• Dal : Light colored unpolished Dal is the best .– Choose them when you have options. Toor,Tuvar, Arhar, Thuvaram Paruppu, Pigeon Peas are all the same –Toor Dal. Moong, Green Gram, Payatham Paruppu are all the same – Moong Dal, Masur, Masoor, Masar, Pink Lentil are all the same – Masoori Dal.
• Tadka : A simple tadka is made with mustard, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Finely chopped ginger and garlic are added which gives the best flavor to the dal.
• Spices : Turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder are the spice powders used here.
• Garnish : Garnish with kasoori methi and coriander leaves.
• Ghee : Dal with ghee is a great combo, you can make the tadka in ghee or add ghee while serving. I always prefer to use homemade ghee while serving for best flavor.

How to make Dal Fry Step by Step

Preparing dal

1.Take 1/2 cup toor dal, rinse it well and add to pressure cooker / instant pot. Detailed step by step post for cooking dal in instant pot is given here.

2.Add salt, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder and 2 cups water to it. Give a quick mix. Close with lid, put the whistle on.

3.Pressure cook for 5 whistles in low medium flame. If you keep in high flame it splutters a lot so its best to cook in low medium flame itself.

4.Let pressure release by itself then mash dal well with a laddle. Set aside.

Tempering with spices

5.To a kadai – heat 2 teaspoon oil / ghee add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds let it splutter then add 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds let it crackle then add few curry leaves and 2 red chilies and a pinch of hing, give a quick saute. You can add 1 teaspoon oil with 1 teaspoon ghee too. I usually temper in oil and add ghee while serving!

6.Now add finely chopped 1 teaspoon ginger and 2 teaspoon garlic.

7.Give a quick saute until its golden.

Cooking Onion Tomato

8.Now add 1/2 cup onion, required salt. Keep an eye while adding salt as we have added salt while cooking dal also.

9.Saute well until golden.

10.Add 1 medium sized tomato.

11.Saute until mushy and tomatoes shrink fully. Now add 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder, 3/4 teaspoon red chili powder. Saute for a minute.

Add cooked dal

12.Add cooked dal along with 1/2 cup water.

13.Rinse the cooker with water and add it may be another 1/2 cup water. Adjust consistency accordingly.

14.Mix well and let dal boil for 7-10 minutes in low flame. Stir in between to avoid burning at the bottom.

Garnish

15.Finally add 1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder, 1 tablespoon coriander leaves and 1 teaspoon kasoori methi.

16.Give a quick mix and switch off. You can adjust dal fry consistency by adding less or more water.

Delicious dal fry is ready. Serve it with ghee.

Expert Tips

• Always cook dal until soft and mushy and it should be mashed well. So to get dal perfectly cooked always cook in low medium flame, it not only avoids spluttering it also gives perfect soft mushy dal.
• If you don’t prefer to add ginger garlic you can skip it. The jain version of dal fry skips it.
• For a restaurant style dal fry after the garnish you can smoke the dal. Burn a small piece of charcoal till its smoky then place it in a bowl and keep the bowl in the middle of the dal in the kadai. Add ghee to the smoking charcoal and immediately close with a tight lid and let it smoke for 3-5 mins. Remove the bowl, a flavorful smoky restaurant style dal fry is ready.
• The consistency is purely your preference, It can be thick or slightly runny as per your preference. Dal thickens with time so switch off accordingly. If dal turns too thick while serving time add little hot water, boil it for few minutes then serve.
• Choose a slightly deep curved vessel for making dal fry.
• A mix of dal can be used for dal fry. A combination of toor dal along with moong dal or chana dal or masoor dal can be added.
• While tempering you can use ghee or oil.

Serving & Storing Suggestions

Dal fry can be served with jeera rice, plain basmati rice or roti, phulka, chapathi etc. Eat hot and fresh for a lingering taste. There will be a slight reduction of flavor if consumed cold. However I make it for lunch and use the leftover for roti / chapati.You can reheat and serve it.

Refrigerate if you wish to keep it for next day and reheat in stove top or microwave before serving!

FAQS

1.Is Dal Tadka and Dal Fry the same?

Yes – literally. However there is a variation in the cooking method & taste as a result of this different cooking procedure that differentiates both of them.  In a dal tadka, the toor dal is cooked with onions, tomatoes and other ingredients and then tempering mixture is added& mixed. In dal fry, the toor dal is simply cooked plain and then mixed with a tempered onions, tomatoes & spices and the whole mixture is further simmered for few minutes.

2.Can I add vegetables to Dal Fry?

Yes – it is optional. You can add spinach, carrot, beans, bhindi – cook them in another container or pressure cooker and mix along with dal.

3.How do you cook Dal Fry in Instant Pot?

Set instant pot to manual mode for 20 mins, pressure level should be low. Let it cook to the set time and let the pressure release naturally. Now cooked dal is ready, you can mash it well with a laddle. Transfer dal to a bowl – Now set instant pot to saute mode for 20 mins then start cooking as per the procedure given here.

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