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Spicy Urad Dal – a simple but delicious vegan Indian daal recipe with black gram lentils in a fragrant Indian gravy that makes for the perfect comfort food dish to add to your weeknight or weekend dinner rotation. Gluten-free.
This spicy urad dal is the perfect dish to spice up a simple weeknight or weekend dinner.
You will love this dish not just for the mouthwatering blend of spices and depth of flavor but also for its heartiness. Serve it with roti, flatbread, brown rice or white rice or cauliflower rice and a simple plant-based curry or a spices veggie side for a nutritious meal that will have everyone licking their plates clean.
Let’s talk about dal for a moment.
Indian food incorporates several Dals in everyday meals. Split peas, split and whole lentils and split and whole beans. Various are available locally and seasonally while others are more readily available in everyday grocery stores.
Most commonly used Dals include Masoor Dal(split skinned brown lentils) , whole masoor( whole brown lentils) , moong dal( split skinned mung beans) sabut moong(green mung beans), urad dal( split skinned black lentils) , whole urad, Chana dal(split skinned brown chickpeas) and more!
You can see all the Indian and English names and pictures of the Dals here
This spicy urad dal starts with boiling the lentils to the preferred tenderness (I do this in a pressure cooker but you can do it on the stovetop as well, see notes). To get the flavors going we incorporate a method called tempering, or tadka, the process of heating oil and adding a few spices to it. Here, we add whole cloves, cumin and bay leaves.
What is Urad Dal?
Urad dal are split, black urad or black lentils (vigna mungo) . These are not the same as the beluga lentils you might have at home. You can use urad dal without skin or a with skin in this recipe, but you definitely want to use the split kind. White/beige is the type without skin, the other will be black on one side. Urad dal is also lower carb among the dals. Whole Urad or whole black gram is used to make Dal makhani. You can use those here as well, just make sure to co them long enough. (40 minutes in instant pot).
You can also use the petite yellow lentils – moong dal which is split green mung beans. Or use red lentils. The naming in various stores varies and yellow lentils can be round or the long ones. The long ones are moong dal. See pictures on myDals post to find the right dals.
This year I plan to make a lot more Indian food and introduce you to variety of dishes that you won’t always find in Indian restaurants. Restaurants keep a limited popular items menu but there’s so much more in Indian cuisine! If you try any of these recipes do leave a review on the recipe post!
More Vegan Dal Recipes:
- Punjabi Dal Fry
- Lentil Curry Casserole
- Easy Chana Dal
- Kashmiri Dal
- Dal Tadka Mix in a Jar
- Oil free Lentil Soup. Spicy Garlic Dal
- Hubbs’ Dal fry
- dal makhani
Spicy Urad Dal
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Urad dal (split black gram lentils) , or use moong dal(petite yellow lentils). See notes for more subs
- 1.5 cups water
- 1/4 teaspoon, salt
For the tempering:
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder or use 3/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 teaspoon cayenne or Indian red chili powder , optional
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large ripe tomato chopped, about 3/4 cup
For finishing:
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 hot green chili such as Indian chili, thai chili or serrano , finely chopped or you can also use mild green chili like Anaheim (use only about a tablespoon chopped or a tablespoon of finely chopped green bell pepper)
- cilantro and lemon juice for garnish
Instructions
- Soak the dal in hot water for at least 15 minutes. Ideally, soak for 30 minutes.
- Once soaked, drain and add to an instant pot with the water and salt and pressure cook for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- To cook it on the stove top, add the dal, 2 cups of water, and salt to a saucepan and cook over medium heat, partially covered for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender to preference.
- Make the tempering: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and wait for it to get hot.
- Add the cumin seeds and cook until the seeds change color and get very fragrant. They will sizzle and continue to change color. Then add in the cloves and bay leaves and mix. Then add in the ground spices and mix in.
- Then add in the onion and garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix really well and continue to cook until the onion is golden brown.
- Add in the tomato and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until the tomatoes are saucy. Add in a splash of water if the tomatoes are not juicy enough and if they start to stick to the skillet. This will take 5 to 7 minutes.
- Mash the larger pieces. Add in the cooked dal (lentils) along with the cooking liquid and mix well and simmer until the dal reaches desired consistency. The dal keeps thickening as it sits so you do want a little bit of extra liquid in there.
- Taste and adjust salt and flavor and add in the minced ginger and the green chili and a dash of lime or lemon juice, lightly mix and take off heat. Garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice, roti, flatbread, or naan.
Video
Notes
- This dal can be made khada (just cooked so the lentils are not broken down) as well as creamy where the lentils are cooked till they break down into a creamy mix. Cook longer for creamy and less for separated lentil texture
- Dal substitutes: You can use either urad dal without skin or a with skin but definitely use the split kind. Sub with petite yellow lentils, which is moong dal which is split green mung beans. Time remains same. For using red lentils (masoor dal), pressure cook 3 minutes. For whole urad(whole black gram lentils), pressure cook 35-40 minutes
- for spicier, add 2 dried red chilies or 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes with the bay leaves
- For Oilfree : dry toast the cumin seeds on a skillet over medium heat. Then add in some broth and bay leaves and cloves and continue with the rest of the step adding broth as needed for sautéing
- Make it into a soup: most Dals can be made into soups. Add more water to preference and bring to a boil and serve with garlic bread on the side.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- Urad dal – black daal soaked in hot water
- whole spices: cumin seeds, cloves and bay leaves are tempered in some oil to get the flavors going
- then we add ground spices to the tempering: ground coriander, red chili powder, and paprika as well as turmeric
and black pepper - chopped onion and minced garlic are added to the mix
- tomato and water is being added to make that delicious fragrant sauce
- minced ginger and fresh green chili are added to the finished daal along with a dash of lime or lemon juice
Tips:
- This dal can be made khada (just cooked so the lentils are not broken down) as well as creamy where the lentils are cooked till they break down into a creamy mix. Cook longer for creamy and leas for separated lentil texture
- You can use either urad dal without skin or a with skin but definitely use the split kind.
- You can also use the petite yellow lentils, which is moong dal which is split green mung beans)
How to make Spicy Urad Dal:
Soak your dal in hot water for at least 15 minutes. Ideally, soak for 30 minutes.
Once soaked, drain and add to an instant pot with the water and salt and pressure cook for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. To cook it on the stovetop, add the dal, 2 cups of water, and salt to a saucepan and cook over medium heat, partially covered for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender to preference.
Make the tempering : Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and wait for it to get hot.
Add the cumin seeds and cook until the seeds, change color and get very fragrant. They will sizzle and continue to change color. Then add in the cloves and bay leaves and mix. Then add in the ground spices and mix in.
Then add in the onion and garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Mix really well and continue to cook until the onion is golden brown.
Add in the tomato and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until the tomatoes are saucy. Add in a splash of water if the tomatoes are not juicy enough and if they start to stick to the skillet. This will take 5 to 7 minutes.
Mash the larger pieces. Add in the cooked dal (lentils) along with the cooking liquid and mix well and simmer until the dal reaches desired consistency. The dal keeps thickening as it sits so you do want a little bit of extra liquid in there.
Taste and adjust salt and flavor and add in the minced ginger and the green chili and a dash of lime or lemon juice and take off heat.
Garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice, roti, flatbread, or naan.
What to serve with spicy Urad Dal
With any Dal a side a spiced veggies pair best. Along with some fresh basmati rice or roti flatbread. Try some Gobi aloo (cauliflower potatoes), bhindi masala (okra), cabbage, poriyal (spiced green bean carrot ) .
Fantástica receta. Muchas gracias por darnos a conocer la cocina india.
So glad you liked it. ¡Qué bueno que les gustó!
true comfort food with just nice mix of spices and heat. you don’t miss the meat!
Yes!!
Made this dal for the first time today. (Part of trying new things – toor dal is next.) It turned out well, although the tomatoes I could find were definitely not “ripe”! It’s May, the tomatoes in the store are quite firm at best.
Can I substitute diced canned tomatoes? Should I drain the juice off?
Yes you can use canned tomato, you don’t need to drain them off.