Moong Dal Tadka | Restaurant Style Yellow Lentils Soup

Normally, in our houses, Moong dal is prepared quite often, and it is very healthy and delicious. Though home style moong dal is very lite and bland in taste, but this preparation is completely different from that. Its full of flavour with thick consistency.

Dahl Recipes

In any Indian thali, whether it is vegetarian or nonveg, dal recipes play a vital role in Indian cuisine. There are hundreds of lentil soups that are prepared in India in different regions and with variety of flavours. Any celebration, festival or party menu is incomplete without a dal. A dal recipe is one of the most convenient and reliable dishes of any Indian house.

I have learnt this dal tadka recipe from one of my North Indian friends. Her father is an owner of a dhaba. One day she cooked this dal and the whole flat was smelling divine. I was so tempted that I asked her if I could taste the dal. It was so luscious that I fell in love with its taste. I insisted her to teach me the dal preparation. Then she shared her Dhaba Style Moong Dal recipe with me. I am still grateful to her for this.

Dal Tadka recipes are hugely popular all over the nation and it has occupied place in almost all the North-Indian restaurants’ Menu card. The speciality of this tadka dal is that it makes any boring legume soup exciting and happening. Even the person who dislikes Moong dal (Yellow lentils) can’t say no to this Moong Dal Tadka. The combination of spices and herbs make it taste heavenly. This is a super desi dal recipe which can easily gel up with any Indian bread or rice items like plain rice, jeera rice, pulao etc.

How to cook Moong dal (Yellow lentils)?

Moong dal (Yellow lentils) can be cooked in two ways either by using Pressure Cooker/Electric Cooker or by using a pan with lid on stove top. Both the processes would give you same result but would differ in the duration of cooking.

Pressure Cooker or Electric Cooker will give you faster cooking experience than a pan.

In this recipe, I have used pressure cooker to boil the dal. If you are using pan to boil the dal then I would like to share few tips and tricks with you.

When you take dal and water into a pan for boiling, never stir the dal in between. If you stir the dal then it will not get cooked properly. Just let it stand in water and get cooked slowly in the pan.

Moong Dal Tadka recipe with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about this dal and the recipe.

Health benefits of Moong dal (Yellow lentils)

Different types of Moong Dal Tadka

Many people cook Moong dal tadka in many ways like Dhaba style tadka, khatta meetha tadka, hing lasun ka tadka, tamatar ka tadka, curry leaves tadka and many more. In every style of cooking, it reflects the different styles of cooking in different cuisines. Though they taste completely different from each other, but all of them taste superb.

Today I have shared the Dhaba Style Moong Dal Tadka with you. If you follow the steps carefully then I am sure that you will get your desired perfect tadka dal.

How to cook Moong Dal Tadka?

The most important thing to be taken care of for a perfect dal tadka is to boil the dal perfectly. The dal should get cooked but not overcooked. If you overcook the dal, it would become soggy and the dal will taste bland.

To overcome from this problem, few things need to be taken care off.

In this dal tadka preparation, Moong dal (Yellow lentils) is tempered twice to get the exact dhaba style flavour of the dal.

First this dal is boiled separately and then I have tempered the dal with whole spices like bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Then I have cooked the dal in oil with onions, ginger, tomatoes, green chillies, chopped cilantros and garam masala powder.

At the end, the magical taste comes with the special desi tadka. On this second tempering process, I personally highly recommend using Ghee (Clarified Butter) instead of oil. For this tempering, I have used whole cumin seeds, dry red whole chilli, chopped garlic, hing (Asafoetida) and chilli powder.

Tip: The chilli powder gives a nice fragrant colour to the tadka, I mean tempering.

At the end, sprinkle some kasuri methi to get the supreme flavour of the dish.

Last but not the least, always use Ghee (Clarified Butter) in the tadka (Tempering) instead of oil. Oil will never give you the same taste and flavour as Dhaba Style Moong Dal.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Moong Dal
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 and ¼ cups of water to pressure cook

• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 large Tomato, deseeded and chopped
• 1-inch Ginger, finely chopped
• 2 green Chillies
• 3 tablespoons Cilantro, chopped
• 1-inch Cinnamon stick
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Garam Masala powder
• 1 teaspoon Kasuri Methi (Dry Fenugreek leaves)
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for cooking
• 1.25 to 1.50 cups of water (Quantity may vary for desired consistency)

• 2 tablespoons Ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 2 whole dry Red Chilli
• 1 tablespoon Garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Hing (Asafoetida)
• 1 teaspoon Chilli powder

1. Wash the Moong dal carefully until the bubbles go away.
   

2. Drain the water and transfer it into a pressure cooker.
   

3. Add 2 and ¼ cups of water and salt into the cooker. Give a stir and close the lid of the pressure cooker.
   
   

4. Put the cooker on flame. Cook the dal in medium flame for 2 whistles.
   Note: Number of whistles may vary due to quality, quantity and temperature.
   
5. Once the pressure settles down, take off the lid.
6. Add oil into a pan and put the flame in high.
7. Once the oil is hot, add Bay leaf, Cinnamon stick and let them crackle.
   

8. Add Onions into the pan and cook them in medium flame for 3-4 minutes until they become translucent.
   

9. Add Ginger, green Chillies and give a nice mix.
   

10. Cook them in low flame until the raw smell goes away.
11. Add Tomatoes and give a nice mix.
    

12. Cover the pan and cook them in low flame for 2 minutes.
13. Add Salt, Turmeric powder and give a nice mix.
    

14. Cover the pan and cook it for 2 minutes in low flame until the Tomatoes get tender.
15. Add the boiled dal (Step 5) into the pan and mix them well.
    

16. Add 1 and ½ cups of water to get your perfect consistency for the dal.
    

17. Cover the pan and put the flame in high until the dal simmer.
    

18. Add Garam Masala powder, chopped Cilantro and give a nice mix.
    

19. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.
    

20. Prepare a separate tadka in a tadka pan. Put the tadka pan on flame.
21. Add Ghee (Clarified Butter) into the tempering pan and let it become hot.
    

22. Add Cumin seeds into the pan and cook them for few seconds in low flame.
    

23. Add chopped Garlic and cook them till light golden but not golden brown.
    

24. Add Hing, whole red chillies into the tadka pan and switch off the flame.
    

25. At the end add red Chilli powder into the pan and mix it well.
    

26. Pour the tadka immediately on the top of the dal. Stir the dal nicely.
    

27. Add Kasuri Methi at the end and stir the dal.