Whole red lentils recipe | Sabut masoor dal recipe

Flavorsome, moreish,  filling and wholesome are just some of the words that can be used to describe this daal. Perfect for meat free Mondays or any other day, it will become a regular addition on your weekly menu.

This creamy daal is a perfect comfort food, quick and easy with just a few basic ingredients. Rich in resistant starch (As per CSIRO, it is a type of starch found in wholegrains, legumes, seeds and starchy fruits and vegetables. It is resistant to digestion in the small intestine and therefore provides an important source of food to the friendly gut bacteria in the large intestine), protein, iron and other essential minerals and full of dietary fibre (as we are using whole daal with skin); consume it as part of a balanced meal. Whole red lentils are readily available at most Indian grocery stores.

To make this daal, I am using a pressure cooker; however it can be made in a pot or a slow cooker too. Whatever you use, the process remains the same. There are three steps in the process:

1. Rinse and presoak daal
2. Cook daal
3. Add tarka/tempering

How to make sabut masoor dal – process in detail 

1. Rinse & presoak daal

In a bowl, add water to the daal. Wash and drain. Repeat till water runs clear. Presoak in fresh water (up to 1-2cm over the daal) for 2 hours. It’s ok to presoak for longer too. As daal absorbs water during presoaking, it will slightly increase in size.

Why presoak?

Even though it’s not required to presoak lentils, presoaking provides many benefits and is never skipped in Indian cooking. Presoaking drastically reduces cooking time, makes daal easier to digest, makes the nutrients in daal ready to be assimilated by the body, and reduces it’s gas-producing quality. With a little bit of planning, time does all the hard work for you and of course it tastes much better when cooked after presoaking.

2. Cook daal

The second step is to cook the drained daal with water, spices, tomato and ginger-garlic paste as detailed in the ingredients list. 

Using a pressure cooker

Add the drained daal along with the remaining ingredients in the cooker. Cook on high flame till the first whistle (Some pressure cookers whistle while releasing steam. If you have one that doesn’t whistle, then cook as per the required settings). After the first whistle, reduce the flame to low and cook for another 5 minutes. Switch off the gas and let the steam release on its own, around 10-15 minutes, till the pressure cooker is ready to be opened. 

Using a Pot

Add the water to a large enough pot and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat and add the drained daal along with the remaining ingredients. Simmer and gently stir in between till it is ready (If the tomato skin separates before the daal is fully cooked, remove it with the help of a tong and discard). Add more hot boiled water if required while cooking. Switch off the gas once ready.

Using a slow cooker 

Add the drained daal along with the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Cook as per the required setting. 

How to check if daal is done

To check if daal is cooked, press a few daal pieces between your thumb and fingers or press using the back of a spoon. If you feel resistance, cook some more. Daal is cooked when it’s soft and mushy when pressed. Most of the daal pieces will retain their shape and remain whole.

Once the daal is cooked, with the help of a tong, remove the skin of the tomato and discard. At this stage, you might observe that the water is separate from the daal; that’s normal if you’re cooking in a pressure cooker.

Mix thoroughly to create a thick and creamy consistency. If required mash the tomato using the back of the spoon. Adjust the consistency of the daal if required as per your preference. Add hot boiled water if thick or cook some more in case it’s watery. Taste and add salt if needed.

3. Add tarka/tempering

The last but not least step in the process is the tarka as it adds depth to the flavour. The asafetida used in the tempering also aids in digestion. The asafetida that I use is the pure asafetida and does not have any additives. If following a gluten free diet, then check the asafetida for any additives before using. Traditionally ghee is used for tarka, but if vegan, you can use oil. 

Heat ghee in a small frying pan. Add cumin seeds, asafetida, green chilli (I cut green chilli in quarters as it can be easily removed if you want it to be less spicy. If you prefer more heat, finely chop the green chilli and add it to the daal along with the other ingredients while it’s being cooked) and sizzle for around 8-10 seconds, taking care not to burn the spices. Add the tarka to the daal and stir well. 

Finally, add lemon/lime juice (don’t skip this part as it not only provides flavor but aids in digestion too) and garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Serving suggestion

This daal goes well with rice or roti/paratha/naan or is good enough on its own as a lentil soup. 

Vegan – For vegan options, use any neutral oil instead of ghee for making tarka/tempering.

Gluten free – Asafetida on its own is gluten free, however, if following a gluten free diet, please check the ingredients list for any additives. I use pure asafetida that does not have any additives.

Storing

Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container. Daals are best consumed fresh or by the next day. Although they are edible if kept longer in the fridge, but, with time their gas-producing qualities increase and become difficult for the body to digest. 

Daals are also gelatinous in nature and thicken over time. If there’s a gap between cooking and consuming daal, you might have to add some hot boiled water while heating to adjust consistency. 

If you tried this recipe, let me know by leaving a comment below and rating it. Please share the link on Facebook or Pinterest. For Instagram, mention @vegbyswati or tag #vegbyswati

Print Pin

5 from 7 votes

Whole red lentils (Sabut masoor daal)

This creamy daal is a perfect comfort food, quick and easy with just a few basic ingredients.

Course Main Course, Side Dish, Soup

Cuisine Indian

Keyword dahl, dal, easy, quick, vegan

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Presoaking time 2 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours

Servings 4 people

Calories 255kcal

Author Swati

Equipment

• Pressure cooker/Pot/Slow cooker/Instant Pot

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole red lentils with skin (225gms) washed, presoaked (2 hours) and drained
• 3 cups water (750ml)
• 1 medium tomato (approx. 150gms) cut in half
• 2½ tsp salt or as per taste
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp red chilli powder or as per taste
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp garam masala
• ¾ tbsp ginger-garlic paste (approx. 1cm ginger piece and 2 big garlic cloves)

For Tarka/tempering

• 3 tsp ghee/oil
• ¾ tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp asafetida/hing (refer to notes)
• 1 green chilli cut in half/quarters

Topping & Garnish

• Lemon juice
• 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Instructions

• In a bowl, add water to the lentils/daal. Wash and drain. Repeat till water runs clear. Presoak in fresh water (up to 1-2cm over the daal) for 2 hours.
• Add the drained daal along with water, tomato, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and ginger-garlic paste in a pressure cooker. Cook on a high flame till first whistle. After the first whistle, reduce the flame to low and cook for another 5 minutes. Switch off the gas and let the steam release on its own, around 10-15 minutes. Once all the steam is released, open the pressure cooker. Please refer to notes for this step if using a pot or a slow cooker.
• Using a tong, remove the skin of the tomato and discard. Mix thoroughly to create a thick and creamy consistency. If required, mash the tomato using the back of the spoon. Most of the daal pieces will retain their shape and remain whole.
• Adjust the consistency if required by adding hot boiled water if too thick or cooking some more if watery. Taste and add salt if needed.
• For tarka, heat ghee/oil in a small frying pan. Add cumin seeds, asafetida and green chilli. Sizzle for around 8-10 seconds, taking care not to burn the spices. Add the tarka to the daal and stir well.
• Add lemon/lime juice and garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with roti/paratha or rice.

Video

Notes

• Pot – Add the water to a large enough pot and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, reduce the heat and add the drained daal along with the remaining ingredients. Simmer and gently stir in between till it is ready (If the tomato skin separates before the daal is fully cooked, remove it with the help of a tong and discard). Add more hot boiled water if required while cooking. Switch off the gas once ready. Continue with step 3.
• Slow cooker – Add the drained daal along with all the remaining ingredients and cook as per the required setting. Continue with step 3.
• To check if the daal is cooked, press a few daal pieces between your thumb and fingers or press using the back of a spoon. If you feel resistance, cook some more. Daal is cooked when it’s soft and mushy when pressed.
• Daals usually thicken over time, add some hot boiled water to adjust consistency if required.
• Vegan – For vegan options, use any neutral oil instead of ghee for make tarka/tempering.
• Gluten free – Pure asafetida is gluten free, however most asafetida in the shops have wheat added in it. Please check the ingredients carefully if gluten intolerant and buy only pure asafetida. If using pure asafetida, use around ⅛ tsp as it is quite strong in flavor.
• Best eaten fresh or by next day.
• 1 cup = 250ml
• Calories information is approximate, calculated using online Recipe Calorie & Nutrition Calculator.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Do share the link on Facebook or Pinterest. For Instagram, mention @vegbyswati or #vegbyswati

 

Nutrition

Calories: 255kcal