Masoor Dal (Amma’s 5-minute Healthy Red Lentil Curry)

Masoor Dal is healthy, quick, comfort food. Truly the easiest, most flavourful red lentil curry recipe in 5 minutes hands-on time.

My Indian mother-in-law was cooking for us constantly during the months she spent here after the births our babies.

She is a fabulous cook, though when you compliment anything she makes, she says, “Oh Jenn, this is so simple!”. And she’s right. All you have to do is simmer red lentils on the stovetop while in a second small pan you heat oil to sauté the flavourings. The easiest, most flavourful hands-on 5 minutes you can hope for.

The smell of fragrant curry leaves and nutty mustard seeds sizzling on my stovetop brings back warm fuzzy feelings of family, being cared for, and well fed. What was once exotic is now familiar comfort food to me, too.

What is Masoor Dal Called in English?

Masoor dal is Hindi for red lentils. Lentil is called “dal” in India.

In an ingredient list, if a recipe calls for “masoor dal“, it is the same as red lentils in the dry pulse form.

Bear in mind, however, the word is also used to refer to the saucy, spiced dish made using red lentils. Like here, in Amma’s Masoor Dal (capitalized, because it’s a recipe name).

Whole Masoor Dal vs. Split Masoor Dal

When a recipe calls for masoor dal (or red lentils), it typically refers specifically to split red lentils.

Whole masoor dal are unhusked and the other coating is more brown in colour.

Once the husk is removed and the lentils are split, the characteristic vibrant red colour (well, orange really) is revealed.

Whole red lentils are not as common in basic North American grocery stores, and they also take much longer to cook. They also will not break down as much as the split variety, yielding a chewier, more textured dish. Whole, however, they offer the added nutrition benefit of the insoluble fibre in the husk.

How to Make Masoor Dal

Essentially, there are 3 steps:

1. Cook the lentils. Boil the red lentils/masoor dal on their own in water until soft.
2. Make the tarka. Sometimes spelled tadka, this is a preparation of aromatics fried quickly in hot oil. In this case, the tarka includes mustard seeds, curry leaves, ginger, chiles, and tomatoes.
3. Temper the masoor dal. Scrape the flavourful tarka (including the delicious spiced oil – it’s the only oil in the recipe) directly into the cooked lentils and stir it through. This step is called tempering.

I was skeptical at first about this method – I mean, I’m used to flavour building in layers.

But this is an incredible, tried-and-true Indian cooking technique.

The tarka that is stirred into the dish at the last minute provides a massive flavour punch that seasons the entire pot of masoor dal. It feels like a magic trick.

Once you’ve added the spiced oil and aromatics to the dish, simmer the masoor dal on the stove until you reach the desired consistency (a longer simmer results in a thicker texture).

Amma’s Ingredient List

• Masoor Dal: I love split red lentils here for the soft, comforting texture.

• Turmeric: called “yellow powder” by Amma, this dried, ground anti-inflammatory root is added directly to the cooking water where it blooms and turns the liquid a beautiful golden.

• Cooking oil: I prefer avocado oil as a high-heat cooking oil with a heart-healthy nutrition profile that rivals olive oil (which you cannot use for this, because it has a low smoke point). You may alternatively use coconut oil (common in South India) or ghee (this clarified butter adds a toasty, golden buttery flavour).

• Mustard seeds: I could write a love song for these little seeds. When added to hot oil, they sputter and pop and turn into these nutty, aromatic little toasty bits that flavour the whole pot of masoor dal. Feel free to substitute a teaspoon of cumin seeds. The flavour will be a little different, but still delicious (and this is a common variation).

• Curry leaves:  these provide a nutty, toasty, and uniquely aromatic flavour here and are very hard to substitute (although Thai basil has a surprisingly similar flavour profile). It’s best if you can find fresh curry leaves but dried will do. I buy them at an Indian grocer but I’ve seen them at other Asian grocery stores and sometimes at the supermarket with the plastic clamshell boxes of herbs in produce. Their flavour is irreplaceable in this dish.

• Fresh Ginger: in this recipe, ginger provides beautiful flavour and also a warming heat. If fresh ginger isn’t a staple for you, buy some and keep it in the freezer so you always have it when you need it! I don’t even peel it, just freeze it and grate it off from frozen as needed.

• Green chilies: splitting the chilies lengthwise and leaving them whole infuses the masoor dal with all the flavour of chilis without all of the heat.

• Tomato: this adds a vibrant flavour to the earthy dal. You can use fresh or canned here (save any leftover canned tomatoes for another purpose, you don’t need much!). Amma says this adds “puli” (my crude spelling of the malayalam word for sour). She uses tomato in place of lemon juice in many recipes to add the same brighness.

I loved the simple ingredient list and how the flavouring is built around mostly fresh ingredients – no need to dig through your pantry for garam masala, red chili powder, or other spices.

Asafoetida is an optional add-in, but is authentic and very pronounced and pleasantly pungent in flavour (like onion).  I love it.  You can snatch some up on Amazon.  

You may add a small chopped onion to the hot oil in the beginning (before the seeds) and/or a couple of minced cloves of garlic along with the ginger, if you like (but not needed).

Is Masoor Dal Healthy?

Masoor dal is most definitely good for your health. It is such a wonderfully-nutritious vegetarian lentil curry. These are the key benefits:

• Protein: plant-based, vegetarian/vegan protein I might add.
• Iron: the vitamin C in the tomatoes helps you absorb even more of it.
• Fibre: the kind of soluble fibre found in masoor dal is great for gut health and lowering cholesterol
• Vitamins, minerals and potassium

Pair Masoor Dal with whole wheat chapati or brown rice for a super-satisfying, filling and nutritious meal.

How to Serve with This

This is an easy and delicious, cozy and healthy lunch or dinner. You can garnish it with fresh cilantro (coriander leaves) if you like.

Basmati rice or chapati (a.k.a. roti) are great accompaniments. My Indian husband loves to eat it with spicy mango pickle.

Some crispy papadum are delicious with it, too.

Although this is a mild lentil curry, I serve it with plain yogurt for the kids to cut through any heat. They absolutely inhale it.

If you leave the texture loose, you can even eat from a bowl with a spoon like soup!

Instant Pot Masoor Dal

To make masoor dal in an instant pot / pressure cooker, use the same quantities of water and lentils and pressure cook on high for 5 minutes.

Use the quick release method to let the steam out.

Stir the tadka right into the pressure cooker and then leave it on saute or reduce function until it reaches the desired consistency.

Other Wildly-Popular Indian Recipes You Don’t Want to Miss

Adarsh’s Chicken 65

Madras Lentils

Murgh Makhani (The Best Butter Chicken)

Pork Vindaloo Curry

Coconut Curried Lentils

Last Updated on October 27, 2022 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD