A Step by Step Guide to Making Indian Tomato Dal/Dal Tadka

Tomato Dal/ Dal Tadka is a popular Indian recipe with a high dose of protein and goes great

with hot steaming rice or roti.

The taste is a rich combination of tomatoes, onions and tur dal (pigeon pea lentils or red lentils)

as the main ingredients.

Required Ingredients for Tomato Dal:

Pigeon pea or red lentils: 1 cup

Tomatoes: 3 medium sized

Onion: 1 chopped

Green chilies: 2-3 slit into two

Mustard seeds: ½ a teaspoon

Cumin seeds: ½ a teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds: 6

Asafoetida: ¼ of a teaspoon

Red chili powder: ½ a teaspoon

Turmeric: ½ a teaspoon

Garlic Cloves: 3-4

Curry leaves: 7

Chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Method to Make Tomato Dal:

Take a cup of dal and cook till its soft and mushy in a cooker or open

( if cooker not available).

Take a pan, heat some oil.

To the oil, add mustard seeds and let them sputter.

Then add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, asafoetida, slit green chilies,

garlic cloves and curry leaves.

Fry till the garlic cloves turn little brown.

To the pan, now add chopped onions and cook till they are translucent.

Add chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder and red chili powder and cook

till the oil separates.

Add the boiled lentils and mix well.

Add a cup of water (or more for required consistency).

Add salt to taste and cook till the dal acquires thick consistency.

(Right amount of salt brings out the sourness of the tomatoes, keep tasting

while adding the salt)

Add chopped coriander leaves and cover the dal for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot with rice or roti.

A little touch of ghee on the rice doubles the taste.

Step by Step Process with Images:

1.Keep all the ingredients ready.

Take a pan, heat some oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garlic cloves and let

them sputter.

Then add asafoetida and fenugreek seeds and fry for a few seconds.

2.Once the tampering turns brown, add curry leaves, green chilies, red chili, chopped

onions and sauté them.

3.To the pan, now add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chili powder and

cook till the oil separates.

Add the boiled dal, and mix well.

4.Add water to the required consistency, salt to taste and bring it to a boil.

5.Put in the chopped coriander and let the dal simmer for about 3-5 minutes, keep

stirring once in a while and the very tasty tomato dal/ dal tadka is ready to go!

Enjoy!

About the Author
Swati is a Software Engineer by profession and a wife who loves to put life in words with a little sarcasm and fun. Her blog girlgonewife.com  is her passion and a platform she chose to express her interests and love for cooking, fashion and life.

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