Daal Tarka

Never a daal moment with this on the table. 😉 

Today is the start of International Vegetarian Week, so what better way to start the week than by Introducing DADIMAS LEGENDARY DAAL TARKA.

Dadima means paternal grandmother in Punjabi, a Northern Indian dialect.  This daal was a weekly staple in my hubby’s home growing up, and now, in our home, we have it almost as often.  The kids have grown up eating it since they could crawl, and I can honestly say our whole family craves it.

Do you eat daal as a side dish, or do you have it with a roti/ chapati or rice?  There’s no right or wrong, I suppose.  In India, very often, daal is served as a main course.  I like to eat my daal in a big bowl like a thick soup with a huge dollop of yogurt and maybe some aachar (Indian pickles).. the perfect cozy bowl of comfort and goodness 😊. Bonus, it freezes beautifully, too, so make a double batch!

Daal Tarka

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 20 Minutes 20 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

• 200g yellow moong daal
• 100g split red daal
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• ¼ tsp grated ginger
• ¼ tsp crushed garlic
• ¼ tsp sugar
• 1 tomato – diced
• 1 onion – chopped fine
• 1 tbsp butter plus more if desired
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp coarse ground black pepper
• Large handful of fresh coriander

Instructions

1. Wash both daals
2. Put daals into a saucepan with 2” of water above the daal, do not stir, bring to a boil.
3. Add salt, chilli powder, turmeric, ginger-garlic, sugar, onions, and tomato. 
4.  Continue to boil 10-15 mins, keep adding boiling water if needed until desired consistency.
5. Cover partly, reduce heat to simmer another 5-10 mins
6. Make tarka – in a small pan, melt butter on med-high heat, add cumin seeds, wait until they sizzle and pop but do not let them get black.
7. Add coarse ground black pepper and half coriander, cook until a soft paste.
8. Stir tarka into the daal
9. Add remaining coriander and more butter if you want it creamier
10. Serve with basmati rice or chapatis/Rotis 

Did You Make This Recipe?

Would love to hear your feedback! If you make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram @zarskitchen.