Masoor Dal Tadka

Name: Masoor Dal Tadka
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Cuisine: Asian, Indian
Ingredients: 200 g red split lentils; 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped; 1 small onion, finely chopped; 1 green chilli, finely chopped; 850 ml water; ¾ tsp salt; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 pinch asafoetida (hing); 3 tbsps ghee; ½ tbsp cumin seeds; 1 tsp black mustard seeds, optional; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 inch fresh ginger root, minced; 1 big pinch asafoetida (hing); ¼ tsp mild Kashmiri chilli powder; ¼ tsp garam masala

Instructions

Prep:10min

Masoor dal tadka is a wonderfully creamy red lentil dish, finished with spiced ghee. It’s delicious, full of flavour and incredibly easy to make! All you need to do is cook the lentils until soft and creamy and bloom some aromatics and spices in hot ghee. Put them together and you’ve got yourself the perfect wintery dinner. My recipe calls for asafoetida (hing in Hindi), which is something you might not be familiar with. @priyakrishna describes asafoetida as an ingredient that “makes Indian food taste more Indian”. Flavour wise, it’s funky, oniony and garlicky. But more importantly, it’s a flavour enhancer, making every other spice come through. You can find asafoetida in most large UK supermarkets.

Updated at: Thu, 11 Dec 2025 06:45:01 GMT