I always wondered why it is called fry, because it is a liquid dish. We tag a fry to be a dry dish. I guess this gets it's name from the fact that the restaurant chefs have all the things pre-cooked for this dal and just fries it before serving. Of course same goes for all other things, except this dish is more of a sauteing than anything else.
Anyway when the Paneer Butter Masala is as good as the one we order out in restaurant, I wanted to try out this Dal fry. I believe the unique taste here is because of the Masoor dal. I was browsing through my recipe collection and came across this recipe that I must have got from my GDM group and wanted to try it right away. It has the same taste you get in the restaurant and I made it for our Lunch box, paired with Jeera Rice.
Take both Masoor dal and Moong dal in a pressure cooker.
Add green chilies, garlic and ginger to be pressure cooked together.
The dal is almost mashed, so you don't have to mash it any further.
In a non stick pan, add ghee, saute onions, red chilies
Then add onions, saute till it turns brown.
Next goes the tomatoes, add salt for it to turn soft.
Add the cooked dals.
Bring to boil.
Dal Fry ~ Restaurant Style
Cooking Time from start to finish: 30 mins.
Serves 4.Ingredients Needed:
Masoor dal / Red Lentil - 3/4 cup
Yellow Moong dal / Split Green gram - 1/4 cup
Green chillies - 2-3
Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
Garlic, crushed - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt to taste
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry Red chillies - 1-2
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 medium
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Chopped Coriander leaves - 3 tbsp
Butter or Cream for topping - 1 tbsp (opt)Method to prepare:
Wash the dals and pressure cook with water along with ginger, garlic, turmeric, salt and broken green chillies. The dal should be well done and not too watery. If you want you can mash the dal a bit with the back of the ladel
Heat the ghee in a non stick pan, add the cumin seeds and red chilli. Then addd onions and fry till light brown.
Next add the finely chopped tomato and fry for 2 mins. Once this is done add the dals and simmer on medium heat for 5 mins
Finally garnish with coriander and top with cream/butter (optional)
Serve hot with rotis/parathas
Notes
If you are serving with Naans the dal can be little thicker
Please remember that the dal thickens a bit as it cools or loses temperature
If you want to avoid ghee you can use regular cooking oil. But the restaurant effect comes out more by the addition of ghee.
Other North Indian Recipes
Make this for your Sunday lunch and enjoy!
Vimitha Anand says
My favorite dhal fry... Love it anytime...
savitha ramesh says
Great post with step by step pictures.lovely
? says
Delicious with rice!
Divya.M says
looks yummm and love dal recipe for any part of our country...north or south....:)
Jay says
wat a fantastic recipe...awesome presentation ..
Tasty Appetite
Shabitha Karthikeyan says
Truly a comfort food no one can say a NO to it...
happy-bowl says
We always add a dollop of butter before serving.(forget the calories)...This is a very tasty dish...thank u for posting it.
divya says
Slurp,mouthwatering here, wonderful meal..
Shobha says
Dal fry looks yummy.... my fav.
Pavani says
Such a comforting and yummy dish. I love cooking with masoor and moong dal, I think this combo makes the dal creamy and delicious. Enjoy ur Sunday Valli.
Priya says
Wat a delicious and inviting dal fry,definitely comforting..
Homecooked says
Ooh wow...it looks so yummy! Will definitely try this out 🙂 Thanks for all the pics Sri.
RAKS KITCHEN says
Love dal any time Srivalli,nice recipe for dal fry!
Anonymous says
Yummy and easy to cook
afshan bagwan says
Yaaamyyyyy to taste n very easy quick dish