Tasty Tomato Dal Tadka – An Easy Everyday Dal Under 30 mins

Tomato Dal Tadka AKA Lentils Cooked with Tomatoes and finished off with hot Tadka. Tadka is nothing but a tempering of Oil (usually ghee, however you can switch it with coconut oil if you are vegan) with cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves & dried red chilies that is added at the end of cooking. Usually enjoyed with a side of rice or roti. This is the most basic type of Dal in a typical Indian household and is a low key dish with not too many ingredients or prep time.

A typical Dal Tadka or Tomato dal is usually cooked using Toor Dal or Toovar Dal. It’s the most favorite and most often used lentils in South Indian Cooking. Anything from plain lentils to Sambar are all cooked using Toor Dal because of its meatier texture and its health benefits. Next time, you visit an Indian store try to stock up on a bag of toor dal, its relatively inexpensive and lasts a very long time.

Nutrition Facts:

Toor dal is a rich source of protein, carbohydrates and fibre. This humble pulse facilitates to meet your daily demands of iron and calcium. Besides these, toor dal is an incredible source of folic acids which is essential for fetal growth and prevents the birth defects of the new-born. Being low on glycemic index toor dal is a good addition in diabetic’s meal plan. The richness of fibre and protein keeps you satiated, curbs hunger pangs, promote weight loss and reduces the cholesterol level. It also contains Vitamins C, E, K and B complex along with minerals magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc.
Source

Tomato Dal Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Toor Dal
• 5 cups of water
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 3 large Tomatoes or 4 medium Tomato roughly chopped
• 4 Garlic Pods chopped
• 1/2 tsp Oil
• Salt to taste

Tadka Ingredients:

• 1/2 Tbsp. Oil
• 1 Tbsp. Ghee or Coconut Oil to make it Vegan
• 1 tsp. Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 2 Dried Red Chilies broken down
• 1 stalk of Curry Leaves or 8-10 leaves

Steps:

1. Wash your dal 2-3 times until it runs clear. Add it a pressure cooker or Insta Pot along with 5 cups of water, turmeric, 1 tsp. salt & 1/2 tsp. oil. Pressure cook for 4 mins and let it cool down to release the pressure naturally.
2. In the meanwhile, take a pan and add 2 tsp. oil. Let it heat up for a min, next add the chopped garlic. Let the garlic slightly brown. Once it starts to brown, add the tomatoes, 1/2 tsp. salt and cook for 4-5 mins or until they are super soft and fully cooked.
3. Once the lentils are done cooking in the pressure cooker. Remove the lid and change your Insta pot mode to Sauté and set the cooking time to 5 mins. Add the cooked tomatoes and mix. Let it continue to cook, adjust any salt at this time and add more as needed.
4. In a separate pan, add ghee and the tempering ingredients one by one. Make sure to maintain some distance as this results in hot oil spluttering all over.
5. Once done, add it to the dal and mix well. Remove the dal from cooking or cancel the Saute setting at this point.
6. Serve with a side of rice or lentils. However, the best way to enjoy this amazing dish is with Rice. Add another 1/2 tsp. of ghee over hot rice and pour over a good spoonful of dal and enjoy!