1.Cooking dal perfectly is very important, if you want your sambar or rasam or dal fry or any dishes prepared with dal to be tasty. If the dal is not cooked to a mush and is hard or not properly cooked, then the dish will not turn out well.
2.The quality of the dal is very important. Some varieties of dal do not get cooked to a mush, in that case, soaking dal in hot water for 15-20 minutes ensures faster cooking.
3.The best way to cook dal is by using a pressure cooker as it is not only economical but also saves a lot for time and fuel.
4.The dal should be cooked in such a way, that it should be creamy or mushy.
How to Cook Dal
Serves-2
Ingredients needed
Tur dal – 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Salt to taste
Method
Wash dal well, add water in the ratio 1:3. For 1/2 cups of dal, add 1 1/2 cups of water.
Add turmeric powder and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Mash it well and add salt to taste.(Some varieties of dal do not get cooked to a mush, in that case, soak dal in hot water for 15-20 minutes).
Paruppu Sadam
Many are not aware of this simple dish. So I wanted to post this. For this, no seasoning is required. Just mix dal (paruppu) with steaming hot rice and a tsp of ghee (picture above). Enjoy it with any vegetable curry. I made lauki curry. Simply heaven!
Dal Tadka
Dal Tadka Recipe
Cook dal in the same method as above, then do the seasoning or tadka.
How to Cook Dal-Dal Tadka
Prep Time : 10 mins
Serves:1-2
Recipe Category: Cooking Basics-Dal
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Author:Padhu Sankar
Ingredients needed
Ghee – 2-3 tsp
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera seeds -1/2 tsp
Hing – a pinch
Red chilli – 1
Ginger – 1/2 inch piece finely chopped
Green chilli -1 finely chopped
Shallots/small onions – 3-4 very finely chopped
Curry leaves – a sprig
Method
Heat ghee, add mustard seeds, when it splutter, add jeera seeds and the rest of the ingredients mentioned under “ingredients needed” above.
Saute till small onion changes color, then pour it over the dal. Add salt to taste.
Tips – Adding 1/2 a tsp of gingerly oil to the dal prevents it from frothing while cooking.
Dal recipes which you must not miss. I have given only a few here. Find more in the Dal category.
Dal Recipe (with onion, tomatoes and garlic)
Meet you all with more interesting recipes. Stay in touch with Padhuskitchen.
dal looks so comforting..yummy
Love dal anytime..
Even my dal tadka is similar to urs, minus the onions.Lovely click as usual.
comforting food…dal tadka is yummy
A very nice and simple instruction to follow to make perfect dal tadka! love it!
dal & hot rice is such a delecious combo
I have never cooked anything and i am learning by this website. The most wonderful thing about this is you provide ratio and quantity for any recepie.This is most helpful for the people who don't know how to cook.You are doing wonderful job..Keep it up.
yummy the dal was too gud . could u pl add few more recipes of dal without onion and garlic
Thanks Padhu! Could you please guide me if we need to cook dal in medium temperature setting?
For 1/4 cup dal, you need to add 1 cup of water. Pressure cook on medium heat, if you are cooking directly in cooker.