Masoor Dal Recipe (Red Lentil Dal)

Delicious Masoor Dal, made the easiest way with pantry staples. This North Indian style Red Lentil Dal is flavorsome, tasty and makes for a protein-rich side to your meal. It’s a beginners’ recipe and gets ready under 25 minutes. In this post I share how to cook it on the stovetop with & without a pressure cooker, plus in the instant pot.

Most dal recipes are made the same way, with a long list of ingredients that includes onions, tomatoes, plenty of spices and herbs. But this recipe does not need so many and there is no preparation involved here. Masoor Dal has a unique, delicious & sweet flavor which shines through when cooked with minimal spices.

To me, this is a quick-fix meal without having to compromise on the delicious flavors. I am sure you too will love this for its simplicity. On the days I have enough time to chop and prep up, I make this ultimate creamy Red Lentil Curry or this Dal Palak using masoor dal. But the recipe shared here is my all-time favorite for a fast meal.

Serve this Red Lentil Dal with plain steamed rice, quinoa, millets or scoop with flatbreads like roti, naan or chapati. Flavored rice dishes like Cumin Rice, Ghee Rice or even Turmeric Rice pair wonderfully.

About Masoor Dal

Masoor Dal is the Hindi and Urdu name for both – red lentils and the dish made with them. These lentils are also known as orange lentils and pink lentils. They are popular across the world because they have a natural sweet flavour, taste delicious and cook faster.

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These have a high nutrition profile similar to that of meat. So a lot of people eat them as a meat substitute. Masoor dal is available in 2 varieties – Whole and skinned. While the whole lentils are known as Brown Lentils (sabut masoor dal), the skinned version is known as red lentils.

The whole lentils have an earthy flavor due to the outer skin and are fiber-rich. They have a similar shape as the Puy lentils & horse gram and take longer to cook due to the skin. Red lentils are the skinless version and come in 2 forms – split and whole. But both take almost the same time to cook.

Indians cook with many kinds of lentils like toor dal, chana dal and urad dal. Toor dal (split pigeon peas) is the most commonly used lentil across India. Masoor dal is not common in South India and is rarely used, except in the restaurants to make Tiffin sambar.

With the frequent usage of many different kinds of lentils, Indian kitchens mostly use pressure cooker to save time. But red lentil dal in particular can be prepared in a pot easily as they don’t take much time.

If you cook lentils often, you will love my variations which I have mentioned below.

More Dal recipes
Instant pot dal & rice
Moong dal
Chana dal
Dal fry
Dal makhani

Photo Guide

How to make Masoor Dal (Stepwise Photos)

Cook Lentils

1. Add ½ cup masoor dal to a pot or pressure cooker. Rinse it well a few times. Drain the water completely. Add 2 medium chopped tomatoes (about ½ to ¾ cup), 1 slit or chopped green chili and pour 1¼ to 1½ cups water. You can leave out the chilies if you have toddlers/young kids for the meal.

Tips: I prefer to deseed my tomatoes always & sometimes peel them too if they are not organic. If you are cooking dal in a pot and want to use canned tomatoes, avoid adding them here. Cook the lentils first until soft and add the tomatoes later, simmer for 5 mins.

2. Pressure cook on a medium heat until you hear 1 whistle. To cook in a pot, bring the water to a rapid boil on a medium high heat, turn down the heat and cook on a medium to low heat until the lentils turn soft. As the lentils cook, skim off the froth & discard that arises on top. Add more hot water if required. This step should take you about 15 mins. Older lentils can take longer to cook.

3. When the pressure drops, open the lid.

4. Mash the cooked dal to suit your liking – smooth or coarse. You can also add 2 to 3 tbsp hot water to bring it to a desired consistency. It will thicken slightly upon cooling. So adjust accordingly.

Temper Masoor Dal With Spices

5. Heat 1 to 2 tbsp ghee or butter (or 1 tablespoon oil) on a medium heat. Add one after the other – ¼ teaspoons mustard seeds (optional), ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 chopped garlic cloves and 1 to 2 broken dried red chilies. You can also add a bay leaf or a sprig of curry leaves (pat dry) if you want.

6. When the garlic turns slightly golden, turn the heat to low (or turn off if the pan is too hot). Add 1 pinch hing, ¼ teaspoon turmeric and ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to taste). If you like to flavor it up more, you can add ⅛ teaspoon garam masala. Chili powder tends to burn quickly so pour this immediately to the dal. You may set aside half of this to garnish.

8. Keep the stove flame on a low to medium heat. Add salt and ½ teaspoon crushed kasuri methi. (Crush the kasuri methi in your palms first before adding). Mix well.

9. Simmer for 2 mins and turn off the stove.

You can garnish half of the tempering, sprinkle some finely chopped coriander leaves & lemon juice. Serve masoor dal with rice or roti, some papads, pickle, veggie salad and curd.

Expert Tips

• If you are cooking red lentil dal in a pot and using canned tomatoes or paste, add the tomatoes after the lentils are cooked. Cook until they bread down. If you add them together, lentils will take longer to cook due to the acidity in tomatoes.
• Old lentils take longer time to cook and will also soak up more water. If they have been sitting in the shelves for longer than an year, soak them in hot water for 30 mins before cooking.

Variations

I have shared one of the simplest ways to cook red lentils in this post.

• However you can also cook this in combination with other lentils. I usually add a handful of moong dal to this which makes the dish slightly creamy and thick.
• A lot of people feel masoor dal tastes bland but that’s because of the older stock. If so prefer to use some more spices for flavoring. You can also add ingredients like garam masala, whole spices, kasuri methi or amchur powder to suit your liking. But remember not to overuse them.
• You will loose the original flavor of lentils if you overload the dish with plenty of spices. Moderation is the key here.
• Most Indian homes cook masoor dal with onions & tomatoes. If you want you may use a small sliced or chopped onion. Saute the onions in 2 teaspoons oil until transparent, later add the rinsed lentils, tomatoes etc.
• You can also add some spinach and carrots. Check this recipe – Spinach dal.

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