This dry moong dal recipe is nutritious, full of flavor and easy on the stomach. It is made with a few, readily available ingredients and comes together very quickly. A simple dal recipe that works as a side dish in an elaborate Indian meal or as a complete meal on its own with roti (Indian bread) and onion raita (spiced yogurt).
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAVE THIS POST?
Enter your email to get this post directly in your inbox. Plus, get subscribed to the Indian Ambrosia newsletter!
Psst...we will also send you a FREE eCookbook: INDIAN DINNER PARTY MENU as a thank you for signing up!
It is no secret that in Indian cooking, most lentils have a soup like consistency with a lot of liquid. However, moong or mung dal (split yellow lentils) tastes really good in a dry form: soaked and drained moong lentils are stir-fried in onions, tomatoes, garlic and spices (mmm...) until soft. The dal is topped with green chillies and cilantro for a fresh sabzi style dish.
Serve this pot of deliciousness with some piping hot roti and dollops of raita, and you'll be in foodie heaven, I promise! It's nothing fancy, for sure, but the best things in life are often simple and easy:)
🥘 Ingredients
Here's a picture of the ingredients needed for this dry moong dal recipe. Exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down in the post.
🔪 Instructions
Preparation
- Wash and soak the moong dal in water for about an hour.
- Dice the onions and chop the garlic and tomatoes.
Cooking
- Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the cumin seeds. When they start to sizzle, add the diced onions and fry on medium heat until the onions are golden in color.
- Add the garlic and fry for one minute.
- Add the tomatoes, powdered spices, salt, and a quarter cup water. Keep stirring until the tomatoes break down.
- Drain the dal and add it to the above masala. Mix well and stir the dal with a spoon for five minutes, adding splashes of water to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
- Add half a cup water, lower the heat, and cover the dal with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes or until the dal is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Top with green chillies and cilantro. Serve hot.
💭 Top tips
- Don't over brown the onions - While frying the onions, add the garlic just as the onions start to caramelize and turn a golden color. You do this so your dal does not have an unappealing brown tinge and looks fresh and bright yellow. Taking the browning too far also changes the taste, so avoid it.
- Don't over cook the dal - The dal should be tender but not mushy. We want a thick consistency with very little liquid and with the grains separate and not clumped together.
Serving suggestions
- There are so many possibilities when it comes to dal! The simplest way to have this dry moong dal is with Indian flatbread or roti.
- You can also experiment with a few 'add-ons' to see what you like best! For example, a fresh salad consisting of sliced cucumbers, onions and tomatoes tastes great with dal and roti.
- Add some achar (pickle) and a raita for an even tastier combo.
- Go for a full Indian meal and include a simple sabzi (vegetable curry) to the mix. Aloo shimla mirch (potatoes and green peppers) or a mixed vegetable curry work well here. Both are quick and easy recipes, so you don't have to work too hard to get this combination going.
More dal recipes for you
If you love the idea of trying different lentils in their 'Indian dal' avatar, there is an infinite variety to choose from! Here are just a few tried and tested recipes on the blog.
- Whole Masoor Dal - Curry style brown lentils with a tempering of ghee, onions, garlic, and cumin.
- Chana Dal - Split and husked brown chickpeas that get transformed into a creamy, flavorful curry that tastes so good with rice.
- Dal Makhani - Indian black lentils and kidney beans cooked in tomatoes, spices, butter and cream. Impossibly smooth and buttery and tastes awesome with homemade whole wheat naan.
- Maash Dal - Split black gram lentils (husked) with a unique nutty taste which gets enhanced with a tempering of ginger, green chillies, and a dash of mint.
📖 Recipe
Dry Moong Dal Recipe
Equipment
- Pyrex bowl
- Saucepan
- A large spoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup moong dal
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1.5 cup red onions diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic chopped
- 1 cup tomatoes chopped
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 green chillies
- ½ cup cilantro leaves chopped
Instructions
- Wash the moong dal until the water runs clear. Soak it in a pyrex bowl with enough water to cover it and keep it aside for one hour.
- Dice the onions and chop the garlic and tomatoes.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the cumin seeds. When they start to sizzle, add the diced onions and fry on medium heat until the onions are golden in color.
- Add the garlic and fry for one minute.
- Add the tomatoes, all the powdered spices and salt. Add a quarter cup water if the masala is too thick. Stir it with a spoon until the tomatoes break down.
- Drain the dal and add it to the saucepan. Mix well and stir the dal with a spoon for five minutes, adding splashes of water to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
- Add half a cup water, lower the heat, and cover the dal with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes or until the dal is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Top with green chillies and cilantro. Serve hot.
Notes
- Do not over brown the onions. Add the garlic just as the onions start to caramelize and turn a golden color.
- Do not over cook the dal. The consistency of the dal should be thick with very little liquid. The grains should be separate and not clumped together.
Lynne S says
Really delicious, I'm excited to look around your site for more recipes to try! Thank you for this recipe, one I will be making part of our rotation.
Saima says
Thank you Lynne!