Dal fry recipe with stovetop & Instant pot options. This dal fry is a basic Indian dish made by cooking lentils with spices. Dal refers to lentils & are a staple in most Indian homes. There are numerous ways a dal recipe is made. Dal fry is a basic dish that can be made with toor dal, moong dal, chana dal or even with mixed dals.
Table of contents
About this recipe
This simple dal fry is delicious, aromatic, healthy, comforting and can even be made by a novice cook. It needs just a handful of ingredients which are mostly available in Indian kitchens.
Dal fry is eaten with plain regular rice or with roti. On occasions we also eat it with plain basmati rice, Jeera rice, ghee rice or with Indian flatbreads like plain paratha, methi paratha, palak paratha.
Some people also love papad, pickle, simple vegetable stir fry or a vegetable salad on the side with dal fry and rice.
Dal fry is usually made with toor dal as it is the most widely used lentil in Indian cuisine. I always prefer to use little amount of moong dal along with toor dal as it enhances the texture and flavor of the dish. It is a personal choice and some restaurants and dhabas also use a mix of toor dal and masoor dal.
To make the best dal fry, the quantity and the combination of spices used is the key. Avoid using too much spices, especially chilli powder as it totally alters the flavor of dal. Instead for extra heat use green chilies.
How is it made
Dal fry is made by soft cooking lentils in a pressure cooker or pot. Then the whole spices, ginger, garlic, onions, tomatoes and spice powders are fried in the ghee and then added to the dal. Hence it is known as DAL FRY.
Preparation
1. Add 1 cup dal to a pressure cooker or pot and wash several times till the water runs clear. Pour 2¼ to 2½ cups water. If cooking in a pot you will need to add more water. I have used only toor dal this time, but I usually use ¾ cup toor dal and ¼ cup moong dal. Using moong dal not only adds taste but the texture is also great.
2. Pressure cook for 2 whistles on a medium heat. If cooking in a pot, cook until the dal turns mushy and soft. When the pressure comes down, open the lid mash the dal well.
How to make dal fry
3. Heat 1½ tablespoons ghee in a pan. When it becomes hot, add the following:
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 broken dried red chili (optional)
- When the spices begin to splutter, add ⅛ teaspoon hing (optional)
4. Add ¼ cup finely chopped onions (1 medium) and 1 to 2 chopped green chilies. Saute until onions turn golden.
5. Add 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or ½ inch ginger and 2 garlic cloves fine chopped). Saute until the raw smell of the ginger and garlic goes away. This takes about a minute.
6. Add ½ cup chopped tomatoes (1 large) and ¾ teaspoon salt. Saute until the tomatoes turn mushy and soft.
7. Then add the following spice powders:
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
8. Saute until this mixture smells good. It takes a minute or two.
9. Add cooked & mashed dal.
Consistency
10. Stir well and let cook. If needed you can add more water to suit your liking. When it cools down it will thicken a bit. We prefer dal fry to be thicker in consistency.
11. When the toor dal begins to bubble well, take ½ teaspoon kasuri methi in your palms and crush them well. Add it here. Taste test and add more salt at this stage.
12. Add coriander leaves and switch off. Mix well
13. Turn off the stove. Add lemon juice as desired just before serving. This is optional.
Serve dal fry with rice, papad, pickle or roti.
For more dal recipes, you can check
Dal makhani
Dal palak
Chana dal
Rajma recipe
Tips to make dal fry
Choice of Dal or lentils: The main ingredient used to make dal fry is the toor dal or arhar dal which is known as split pigeon peas in English. It can be made using any dal of your choice or even with mixed lentils.
My preferred choice is a combination of arhar dal and moong dal.
Spices: We don’t need a lot of whole spices to make this dal. Just use what ever you like for the tempering. Cumin or jeera is the main spice used in the tempering.
Dal fry is made across India and some regions even use mustard seeds for the tempering.
Spice powders : Using a lot of spice powders like garam masala, red chilli powder and coriander powder will just alter the original flavor of dal. So use only a fair amount of them.
Ghee or oil: Most people temper the dal with ghee as it totally elevates the flavor and taste of the dal. If you are a vegan then you can just use oil.
The ingredients that are used in a dal fry recipe vary depending on the region and personal choice. You can also check this moong dal recipe for variation.
Related Recipes
Recipe card
Dal fry recipe | How to make dal fry
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- 1 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas) (or ¾ cup toor dal + ¼ cup moong dal)
- 2¼ to 2½ cups water (3 cups for Instant pot, more for regular pot)
For tempering dal fry
- 1½ tablespoons ghee (or oil or butter)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
- 1 dried red chilli broken (optional)
- 1 to 2 green chilies (slit or chopped) (optional)
- 1 medium onion (¼ cup chopped finely)
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (or ½ inch ginger & 2 garlic cloves fine chopped)
- 1 large tomato (½ cup chopped or pureed)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon kasuri methi crushed (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves finely chopped
For serving
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice or as needed (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Add 1 cup dal to a pot or cooker. Rinse it well a few times until water runs clear.
- Pour 2¼ to 2½ cups water.
- Pressure cook on a medium heat for 2 whistles. When the pressure releases, open the lid and mash the dal slightly. If cooking in a pot, add more water as needed and cook until soft and mushy.
How to make dal fry
- Heat a pan with ghee, oil or butter. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dried red chili. When the spices begin to splutter, add hing.
- Next add onions and green chilies. Saute until the onions turn golden.
- Add ginger garlic and saute until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes off. This takes about a minute.
- Then add tomatoes and salt. Saute on a medium flame until tomatoes turn soft.
- Add red chili powder, garam masala and turmeric. Saute for 2 mins till the masala begins to smell good & leaves the pan.
- Add the mashed dal & mix well. Pour more water as needed to bring it to a desired consistency. (watch video)
- Cook until the dal begins to bubble well. When dal fry reaches the desired consistency, crush kasuri methi in your palms and add it.
- Taste test and add more salt if needed. Garnish with coriander leaves.
- Serve dal fry with rice, roti, butter naan or paratha. When the temperature comes down slightly squeeze in some lemon juice.
Instant pot dal fry
- Press the SAUTE button instant pot and pour ghee to the steel insert.
- When the ghee melts, add the cumin, red chilli & mustard (optional).
- As soon as the spices pop, add hing, green chilli & onions.
- Saute for 2 mins and then fry ginger garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add in tomatoes and salt. Saute until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy.
- Stir in red chilli powder, turmeric and garam masala. Add rinsed dal and pour 3 cups water.
- Press CANCEL button. Mix well and scrape the bottom with the spatula to release any bits of food stuck.
- Optional – You can also place a long legged trivet and then place your rice bowl and cover.
- Secure the Instant pot with the lid. Set the steam vent to sealing position.
- Press the PRESSURE COOK button, high pressure and set the timer to 8 minutes.
- When the IP beeps wait for the natural release for 10 mins.
- Mash the dal to suit your liking. Then add kasuri methi and coriander leaves. Taste test and add more salt if needed.
- If you like thinner consistency you can add little hot water and mix.
- Sprinkle some lemon juice over the dal fry & serve with rice.
Notes
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Emy says
I hope to make this soon. Can I add vegetables and spinach? At what stage do I add? Thank you
swasthi says
Hi Emy,
You are welcome! Yes you can add carrots, bell pepper, cabbage,beans & spinach. You can add them all along with tomatoes & cook until slightly tender.Hope this helps
Sonya says
Your recipes are so good! Thank you so much! I have tried several of them, and they are always a big hit. You make it to simple to follow, and the taste is always spot on. Can’t wait to try making this tonight!
swasthi says
Hi Sonya,
You are welcome. Glad you like them. Thanks much! Hope you like the dal fry.
🙂
Donna Boule says
Quick question. Plan on making this on the stove top. For the spices that will be fried, are you using ground, while seed or a combination of both?
swasthi says
Hi Donna,
For the tempering, I use whole mustard seeds and cumin seeds. The rest of the spices are ground.
Magdalena Rabanser says
Hey!
First time i tried to cook something from here and it’s awesome. Brings me straight back to my journeys in india. Thank you so much!
swasthi says
Hi!
You are welcome. Glad you liked it! Thank you!
Deepa GV says
Nice and easy
Sandra says
This was a delicious dal. My family fell in love with dal in India and was excited to try it. We made this tonight with basmati rice and papadams we bought from india. Added a dollop of ghee on the hot dal. Absolutely perfect! Would appreciate if you could add the instructions for IP with basmati rice. Keen to make it often. Thank you.
swasthi says
Hi Sandra,
You are welcome. Glad you all loved the dal. I will update the instructions for IP. Thanks for trying.
Mia says
Made this for my brother’s family for dinner. My brother can’t eat rich, creamy & greasy dishes but this dal recipe is lovely. I substituted a part of pigeon dal with red lentils but it worked just as well. I doubled the recipe and used 3 tbsps butter. I got some curry leaves from my Indian friend & ohh… it turned out YUM as good as your butter chicken! Thanks for inspiring us!
swasthi says
Hi Mia,
You are welcome. yes curry leaves will add an aroma to the dal. So glad it turned out good. Thank you so much for trying the recipes. Have a nice day!
Tabassum says
Aaahhh finally a arhar daal that i can eat…made it loved it…. Zabardast…
swasthi says
Hi Tabassum,
Thank you. Glad you liked it.
Samantha says
Have just started cooking Indian food. I am learning so much. My trip to a local Indian grocery in Greenville SC USA was fun and exciting. I have to go back as there are spices in this recipe I don’t have.
swasthi says
Hi Samantha
Thanks for being here. Yes do dry the recipe
sathisha kannan says
does this recipe go well with idly or dosa?
swasthi says
Hi Sathisha
Usually dosa and idli are eaten with chutney or sambar. If you have some refrigerated dal fry then you can use up with dosa. But they don’t really pair well.
Lisa says
Yummy dal fry. I hate the dal with so much chili and spices. Loved this very much. Thank you
swasthi says
Welcome Lisa
Thank you so much for trying and glad you like it.
Tina says
Dear swasthi,
thank you all the yummy recipes you share. I have made many recipes from here and all came out well
Sandhya says
It came out really good. Thank you so much.
swasthi says
Welcome Sandhya
Nimmi says
I made this with mix dal loved it
swasthi says
Thanks Nimmi
Deepika says
Hi… ur recepis are so simple yet so yummy.
I have tried 3 and all came out to be wonderful. This one I’m gonna try today 🙂
swasthi says
Thanks Deepika
Happy to know the food turned out good. Thanks for trying
Sangeetha says
I followed your steps and achieved my first dal fry.. indeed a yummy recipe!
Thank you 🙂
swasthi says
Welcome Sangeetha
Happy to know it came out well. Thanks for sharing the outcome
Michel says
Dal Fry is best in taste Ever. Its so easy to make, tasty & good for health.Thank you for sharing its recipe!
swasthi says
Welcome Michel
Glad to know you liked it. Thank you
Swastik Tripathy says
Thanks for your easy & quick recipes .
swasthi says
Welcome Swastik Tripathy
Sweety says
Wow Ur recipe are soo nice.i loved it
swasthi says
Thanks Sweety
supriya says
Dal looks yummy going to try
swasthi says
Hi Supriya
Hope you are doing good. Yes do try it.
Rumana says
My all time favourite dal.
swasthi says
🙂