• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Recipe52.com

  • Home
  • Chicken
    • Chicken
    • Pakistani Chicken
  • Main Course
    • Vegetarian
    • Lamb
    • Mince
    • Rice
    • Casserole
    • Bohra
  • Desserts
    • Indian & Pakistani Dessert
    • Ice Cream
    • Small Desserts
  • Soups
  • Salads
  • Ramadan
    • Ramadan
    • Snacks
    • Drinks
    • Chai
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipe Index
  • Dessert
  • Chicken
  • Bohra
  • Meet Mariam
    • Contact Us
×

Home » Vegetarian » Masoor Dal recipe | Easy Peasy delicious

Jun 11, 2020 · Modified: Mar 3, 2021 by Mariam Sodawater · This post may contain affiliate links. Leave a Comment

Masoor Dal recipe | Easy Peasy delicious

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote
Masoor Daal Pin it image.

Why I like masoor dal is because it can be prepared easily with staple ingredients. These lentils have very little cooking time and you don’t have to soak them for hours like other legumes. Masoor dal also is known as sabut masoor dal, whole masoor dal or brown lentil in English.

These are my favourite lentils. At our home, every Monday or at least alternate Monday would be brown lentil day and that’s how I grew up. I feel brown lentil are slightly sweeter than other lentils so they are loved by kids in taste. Although they are not as tempting in appearance, they are much more nutritious than other lentils.

Masoor and rice served in a plate.

Nutrition:

Masoor is packed with nutrients. This inexpensive food is rich in iron, potassium and fibre. It can lower blood sugar and cholesterol. It is also great for your heart. Learn more about masoor benefits here.

What to eat with masoor dal?

Masoor lentil pairs best with zeera rice or any Indian bread like chapati, roti or naan. Further, you can add some yoghurt and kachumber salad on the side and you are set for a comfortable lunch. I like it super soft, slightly mushy and but whole grains.

Masoor daal served in bowl.

Tips to make masoor dal

I’m using quick dump in one-pot method to make this daal, which in my experience tastes great and is easy too. Another popular method is boil or pressure cook lentils in a pot. And make onion-tomato tempering separately. Both works methods work well, but I’ve found the below dump one-pot method used in recipe card tastes best, it saves some time and is easy too. 

For a slight hint of tanginess, you can add a piece of raw green mango in the brown lentils. Similarly, you can add tamarind to all lentils to add tangy hints. Because tamarind is easy to store and is a staple in the Indian pantry. 

My other similar lentil recipes

  • Moong masoor dal
  • Daal Chawal Palidu

How to make Masoor dal recipe ( Indian brown lentil)?

Soak whole Indian brown lentils.

Wash lentil in cold water 2-3 times until the water runs clear. Soak brown lentil or masoor dal for 30 minutes in warm water. This helps in quick cooking of dal and makes lentil grains soft from inside. (Soaking also helps digestion, check more here.)

Ingredients for masoor daal

Now, here's a quick view of ingredients except lentil and tempering ingredients.

Add all ingredients to soaked masoor dal.

Drain the soaking water. Fill the pot win another 3 cups of water add all the ingredients and pulses. (Do not add tempering ingredients.) Cover the pot and cook for 20-30 minutes until lentils are soft as in below picture.

Notes: Make sure the pot is large enough and less than half is filled because some of the water might rise to the top while cooking. (The cooking time can vary depending on the quality of lentils, soaking time and air pressure.) You can also cook in a pressure cooker or an instant pot. Cooking time should be less than 5 minutes.

Dal is cooked.

The lentils are cooked now. Test it by picking a lentil grain. Mash it between your index finger and thumb. It should mesh completely with no hard bits. If still uncook for another 5-10 minutes.

When lentils are tender, just give it few stirs and your onion and tomatoes will mesh completely and dissolve in the lentils gravy. At this stage adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding more water if or as needed. We like thick soup-like consistency.

Add tamarind pulp.

Add tamarind pulp or lemon juice, mix and let the lentil simmer on the lowest heat while you prepare the tempering.

Tip: You can also do a taste test at this stage. If anything is missing like green chili for spice, salt, turmeric for the yellow color, or allspice powder, you can add it in the next step of tempering.

Prepare tempering for brown lentils.

Let's prepare the tempering. Heat oil and fry sliced garlic until lightly golden. Now add curry leaves and cumin. (Skip curry leaves if not available.)

Add tempering to sabut masoor daal.

Add the tempering to the lentil pot. Indian Sabut Masoor Dal is ready to serve. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with rice, naan, some fresh salad.

Masoor daal served in bowl.

Masoor Dal Recipe (Indian Brown Lentils)

An easy dump in one recipe that is used in most Indian homes and turns out super YUM!
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Servings : 5 Servings
Calories: 217kcal
Author: Mariam Sodawater
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown lentils, (whole masoor dal), preferably soaked for 30 minutes in warm water.

For Brown Lentils

  • 1 onion, cut in 4 pieces
  • 1 tomato, cut in 4 pieces
  • 2-3 chillies, chopped or 1 tablespoon green chilli paste
  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste
  • ¾ teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cloves
  • 4 pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1- inch cinnamon
  • 4 red chillies
  • 2 tablespoon tamarind pulp , dissolved in water or lemon juice

Tempering

  • 4-6 tablespoon oil, less or more to preference
  • 3 fat cloves of garlic, sliced
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seed
  • 2 twigs of curry leaves, skip if not available
  • 3 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander , for garnish

Instructions

  • Wash and soak brown lentils for 30 minutes in warm water. Then drain the water.
  • In a large pot take soaked lentils, all the ingredients for brown lentils, and 3 cups of water. Bring the lentil to boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Cook for 20-30 minutes until lentils are soft.
  • Add tamarind pulp and give it is a good stirring to dissolve onion and tomatoes. Add water if needed to adjust consistency.

Tempering:

  • Heat oil in a pan and fry garlic until lightly golden. Add cumin and curry leaves and fry for another few seconds. Pour the tempering over the lentils. Lentil are ready to serve. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot.

Notes

You may add mustard seeds or chilies in tempering if you like.
If making in the instant pot. 5-7 minutes (less for whole daal more for slightly mushy daal) pressure cooking is enough to cook the dal, add the tempering and serve. 
Similarly, if slow cooking, put all ingredients (except tempering) in the slow cooker and cook for several hours. Make the tempering in separately, then mix with dal and serve. 

Nutrition Information

Calories: 217kcal
Mention @Recipe52 or tag #Loverecipe52!
« Tomato Soup Recipe Indian Style
Chocolate Salami with Condensed & Cocoa »

Reader Interactions

Rate this Recipe and Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

If you enjoy this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating along with your comment. Not only your reviews motivate me to do my best, but they also help others find me online. Thank you! Mariam




Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Hi, I’m a Mariam Sodawater, a passionate home chef dedicated to sharing authentic South Asian taste with simple recipes and easy-to-find ingredients. My motto is EASY, HEALTHY, and FRUGAL food. Home cooking can be fun and therapeutic!

More about me →

Summer Favourite

  • Plum Jam Without Pectin (Low-Sugar)
  • Fresh Peach Ice Cream Recipe (No-Churn)
  • Spicy Mango Chutney (Indian-style)
  • Cucumber Lemon Juice Recipe With Honey
  • Homemade Mango Ice Cream Recipe
  • Chicken Malai Tikka Recipe

Popular Recipes

  • Kashmiri Chai Recipe (Pink Tea)
  • Pakistani Chicken Karahi Recipe
  • Chapli Kebab Recipe (The BEST!)
  • Date Roll Recipe | Video Tutorial
  • ABC Juice (Apple Beet Carrot Juice)
  • Pakistani Chicken Biryani Recipe

Footer

Newsletter

Privacy Policy

Recipe52.com Copyright © 2020