Recipe for Dal Tadka & Rice

What can be more comforting than dal cooked in mild spices paired with rice, served with ghee and your favourite pickle? This simple and soulful food is cooked in most Indian homes and is comfort food for many.

Dal means lentils, and Chawal means Rice. The recipe varies from home to home. While a richer version is served in restaurants, simpler versions are made at home.

The best part of this dish is that apart from being delicious, it is super easy to make. Even if you’ve had a long day at work and want to eat simple home-cooked food, all you need is 30 minutes to make this dish. Most Indian homes have pressure cookers, and they make life very easy. They almost get used daily and are a time saver when you want to cook something fast.

In my home, when I cook Dal Chawal, I cook rice in one pressure cooker and dal in another, and simultaneously, while they are cooking, I prepare the tadka for the dal. The rice and dal take about 15 minutes to cook. The tadka is ready in 10 minutes. Once the pressure in the cooker, in which the dal is cooked, is released, I add the tadka to the dal, and that’s it. Both Dal and Chawal are ready.

Dal is an excellent protein source; rice has carbs and is gluten-free.

To eat Dal Chawal, serve some rice on your plate, add ghee ( 1/2 teaspoon is enough to elevate the dish to another level), and serve it with dal. You can take dal in a separate bowl or pour it on the rice; it’s your choice. If you wish, serve it with any pickle of your choice. Combine and eat!

This food, especially when eaten as dinner, will give you a comfortable sleep at night as it is light, mildly spiced, and filling.

So, let me go ahead and share the recipe with you.

Ingredients for plain rice:

1. Rice: Any rice would do. I usually make it with Sona Masoori Rice or Basmati rice.
2. Water: Add based on the rice that you are using. Usually, the 1:2 ratio works when preparing rice in a cooker. i,e for every 1 cup of rice, you need 2 cups of water. But please note that this ratio can change depending on the rice ( whether old or new), the vessel you are cooking in (a cooking pot or a pressure cooker), etc.

Method to make plain rice:

1. Wash the rice thoroughly. Soak it for about 30 minutes in water. Then drain out all the water.
2. Put the rice and the required amount of fresh water in your cooking vessel and cook till the rice is soft. Neither should it be sticky ( which means it is overcooked) nor chalky (which means it is undercooked). The grains should stand out but should be soft. It should mash easily if you press a grain between your fingers.

Ingredients to make Dal:

1. Toor Dal/ Arhar Dal: 1 cup, washed and then soaked for at least 30 minutes
   
   
   
2. Ghee: 1 tablespoon
3. Cumin seeds: 1 teaspoon
4. Asafoetida: 1/2 teaspoon
5. Dry red chillies: 3-4
6. Ginger: 1 teaspoon, finely chopped
7. Garlic: 1 teaspoon, finely chopped
8. Onion: 1 tablespoon, finely chopped
9. Tomato: 1 tablespoon, finely chopped
10. Curry leaves: 8-10
11. Kasuri Methi ( dry fenugreek leaves): 1 tablespoon
12. Fresh Coriander leaves: for garnishing
13. Turmeric Powder: 1 teaspoon
14. Salt: As per taste, I added 1 1/2 teaspoons
15. Water: About 4 cups

Method to make Dal:

1. Cook the dal with water, turmeric powder, and salt in a pressure cooker till the dal is soft and mushy.
   
   
   
2. While the dal is cooking, prepare all the other ingredients and keep them ready before you go to the next step. Also, start the next step after the dal is cooked.
   
   
   
3. In a Kadhai (Thick, deep cooking pot), heat ghee till it smokes. The ghee should be very hot ( it is very important). Add cumin seeds, asafoetida, ginger, garlic, red chillies, and curry leaves and fry them for about 15 seconds.
   
   
   
4. Then add onions and tomatoes. Add Kasuri Methi and one tablespoon of chopped fresh coriander leaves. Everything will fry very fast because the ghee is very hot.
   
   
   
5. In about 30 seconds, everything should be fried well.
   
   
   
6. Then add the cooked dal. Taste and adjust the salt if needed. If the dal is too thick, add water. If it is too thin, cook for 2-3 minutes and remove from heat. As it cools, it will thicken.
   
   
   
7. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.
   
   

Serve with Rice. Enjoy!

About Ingredient sourcing in Germany:

While you can get some of the ingredients needed for this recipe from a German Supermarket, you can find all the ingredients from any Indian shop near you or the online store of Spicelands. They are a big store in Frankfurt, delivering all across Germany.

Alternatively, you can even buy these ingredients from amazon.de. Links are given below:
Toor Dal: https://amzn.to/45sU34z
Ghee: https://amzn.to/40Qqu9s
Kasoori Methi: https://amzn.to/41LURPD
Turmeric Powder: https://amzn.to/3M6pCrX
Onion: https://amzn.to/3nepwWV
Tomatoes: https://amzn.to/41Ofn26
Ginger:  https://amzn.to/3pxq4Ia
Garlic: https://amzn.to/42wXmWy
Dry Red Chillies: https://amzn.to/3O8CMrf
Cumin Seeds: https://amzn.to/41EPjWD
Coriander Leaves: https://amzn.to/3AZWU76
Salt: https://amzn.to/3ACstDM
Curry Leaves: https://amzn.to/3WvOSg3

Equipment needed for the recipe:
Please note that I use all these in my kitchen. I am happy and satisfied with these products, and hence, I recommend these to my readers.

Pan: https://amzn.to/44V92Ek
Cutting Board: https://amzn.to/3n9IXjM
Knife Set (includes a bread knife): https://amzn.to/3Lg64Bj
Pressure cooker: https://amzn.to/3I2PAM1

Here is the recipe in printable format:

Please note that this article contains affiliate links. If you buy using these links, I receive a small commission. This has no effect on the price for you.

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