Moong Dal Tadka

Main

½ cup moong dal (split skinned mung lentils)

⅓ cup finely chopped onions

1 medium size tomato - chopped

½ inch ginger (adrak) - finely chopped or grated

¼ tsp red chili powder or cayenne pepper

⅓ tsp turmeric powder (ground turmeric)

1 ½ cups water

Salt as required

For Tempering

1 tsp cumin seeds

5 small to medium-sized garlic - crushed lightly

¼ tsp Garam Masala Powder, more to taste

¼ tsp red chili powder or cayenne pepper

1 green chilli - slit

A pinch of asafoetida (hing) - optional

3 tbsp oil or ghee or butter

In a small pan, heat oil or ghee or butter. First, fry the cumin seeds.

Next, add the garlic and green chili and fry for some seconds. Don't brown the garlic. Switch off the flame.

Now add the garam masala powder, red chili powder, and asafoetida. Switching off the flame earlier ensures that the spice powders don't get burned.

Quickly stir and immediately pour the tempering mixture into the dal.

Stir the dal and serve hot with steamed rice or chapatis.

The moong dal tadka tastes better as it is, and there is no need to garnish or add coriander leaves to it. But if you want, you can always garnish with some coriander leaves. For a slight tang, you can also squeeze some lemon juice.

Notes

Soaking: You can soak the lentils for 20 to 30 minutes, and this will speed up the cooking time.

Green Chillies: You can use serrano peppers instead of the Indian green chillies. You can even replace the green chillies with dried red chillies.

Consistency: You can have a thick, medium, or thin consistency of the dal by adding less or more water later.

Asafoetida: If you do not have asafoetida, skip it.

Spicing: You can decrease or increase the herbs & spices like red chili powder, green chillies, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds according to your preferences. But do not increase the amount of turmeric powder.

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Moong Dal Tadka