Aloo Dal Tadka

Dal or lentil is rich in protein and staple food in many regions of India. The basic dal tadka served in the restaurant is the simple cooked lentils topped with tempering or tadka of ghee and spices. I simply like the restaurant style dal tadka with hot rice or any roti. Here is the variant of basic dal tadka using aloo or potato. Aloo or potato when added to any kind of gravy gives a unique richness with high carbohydrate content.  It’s very simple to prepare and tasty with any Indian flat bread.

Here is the simple recipe

Course: Dal

Cuisine: North Indian

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 25 mins

Serves: 3 nos

Ingredients:

Aloo or potato- 1 cup (chopped small)

Moong dal-1/2 cup

Toor dal-1/2 cup

Finely chopped onion -1/2 cup

Ginger finely chopped-1 tbsp

Oil/ghee- 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds-1 tsp

Jeera -1 tsp

Curry leaves- 4-5 no

Green chillies-2 nos

Red chillies-1 no

Hing -1/2 tsp

Salt as per taste

Lemon juice-2 tsp

Method:

1. Take a pressure cooker pan; add oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, slit green chillies, sauté well. Now add onion, ginger pieces, sauté well.
2. Now add the cleaned and washed moong dal and toor dal, fry for some time. Add the aloo pieces, salt, lemon juice, required quantity of water. Close the lid and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
3. After it cools down, mash the dal slightly, keep aside for tadka
4. For tadka or seasoning, take ghee in a small pan, add jeera, red chillies, hing, sauté well.
5. Pour this over the dal and serve hot with rice or chapati or any Indian flat bread.

My Notes:

Mashing the lentils is optional; it can be served as it is.

Toor dal alone can be used in this recipe. The combination of lentils or dal makes it more protein rich food.