Dal tadka

Dal tadka is a very popular and common dish among Indians. This dal tadka is something special with the 'double tadka' process, that too, with a dash of ghee. Each restaurant has its own flavour indulged in this recipe hence adding up a unique taste to the dish. 

What is Tadka?
Tadka is nothing but a tempering process. So, tempered dal is the meaning of dal tadka. Here tempering is done with ghee/oil and the tempering ingredients includes cumin seeds, dried red chilli, ginger, garlic and curry leaves.

Dhabas- What they do?
Dhabas have their taste enriched with the combination of dals. It could be toor+masoor, toor+moong or masoor+moong. Use any combo of your choice. I adhere to 'only toor dal' version as the taste I gotta get was incredibly awesome.
A piece of charcoal with a little sprinkle of ghee/oil over it (dhungar!) would make the dish smoky which I usually skip as the one without smoke would be great enough to satisfy my taste buds.

The recipe revealed here is the simple yet tasty process of dal tadka, just made with toor dal, while tempering twice (double tadka!) with the nice aromatic cumin seeds, red chillies, hing, curry leaves, ginger and garlic. You could make it garlicky by adding roasted garlic at the end. I love to do second tempering with some freshly chopped garlic which would take the dal tadka recipe taste to the next level. Hing is another factor which lifts the taste.

My Special to-do's in Dal Tadka recipe:

• A hint of hing along with the turmeric powder is introduced to the dal while cooking.
• Double tadka with ghee (only ghee! that too with the homemade flavoursome ghee! ).
• For the second tadka, some freshly minced garlic has to be tempered in the sizzling ghee.
• Dash of lemon juice over the dal tadka.

A very tasty, flavorful, easy-to-make, kid-friendly, and protein-packed recipe which could be best paired with rice, roti, naan, and chapati. If you have no vegetables stocked in the fridge, or you want to make a tasty dish in a jiffy, this dal tadka would be a better and wise choice for you.

🕙Preparation Time: 15 minutes
🕙Cooking Time: 20 minutes
🍽Cuisine: North Indian
🍴Servings: 2 to 3

What to Use?
To Cook the Dal:

• Toor dal -1 cup
• Water- 3 cups
• Hing- a pinch
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

First Tadka:

• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Onion -1
• Tomato -1
• Green chilly -1 (optional)
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Second Tadka:

• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Minced garlic - 3 cloves
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Dried red chilly - 1
• Curry leaves - a sprig

How to Make?
To cook the dal:

• Wash the toor dal twice.

• To a pressure cooker, add toor dal, turmeric powder, hing, water and some salt.

• Close with the lid and cook for 4 to 5 whistles on a medium flame. (Each cooker is different and you can follow the usual cooking time and procedure).

To make Dal Tadka:

• To a pan, add a dash of ghee.
• When the ghee shimmers, add the ginger-garlic paste and saute until the raw smell of the ginger goes away from it.

• Add sliced onion and saute for a minute. 

• Add some finely chopped green chilly (optional). If you have a kid, do avoid as he/she may not tolerate the heat produced by the green chilly. 

• Add the chopped tomato and saute until it turns mushy.

• It's time to add the cooked dal to the pan. Mix the dal well with the other ingredients.

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• Add red chilli powder to increase the spiciness.

• Add a teaspoon of lime juice at this time. 

• Add required salt, mix and switch off the stove. (don't add too much! We have added some salt while cooking the dal.)
  
• Add a dash of ghee to the ladle and add minced garlic, cumin seeds, dried red chilly and curry leaves once the ghee starts to shimmer. This is our second tadka!
  
• Pour the second tadka to the dal.
  
• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves).
  

Visual Treat:
Watch and Enjoy the recipe

Tips:

• Add some water to the dal if the consistency is too thick.
• Black pepper powder could be added in the place of red chilli powder.
• Hing powder can be added to the second tadka. I skip this step since I added hing to the dal while cooking them.
• You could skip kasoori methi in this recipe.
• Never skip tempering twice as that is the key to get the authentic taste of this recipe.