Annika Eats

Dal Tadka Dhaba Style

My go to yellow dal tadka recipe that is authentic to every dhaba in India. It is a quick and easy delicious vegetarian dish served with rice or roti at home.

Let us clear up a couple of things before we start cooking. A “Dhaba” is a roadside food stall/restaurant usually found on highways in India. Serving traditional local cuisine, most often than not through out the day and night as well. Now, Dal Tadka is a traditional vegetarian Indian lentil dish that is served with rice or roti. It can be had for lunch or dinner. To make dal tadka, the recipe calls for toor dal or masoor dal. While the tadka includes whole and powdered spices with chillies in ghee. The dal is garnished with fresh coriander as well.

Tips on cooking lentils such as Dal

When cooking lentils always by soaking your lentils in water for an hour (minimum). We start the boiling process in room temperature water with salt. The ratio for dal to water is 1: 3 you can always add more water if needed during the boiling process. This ensures the dal is completely cooked through and soft. There is no specific time to cook lentils, this varies on the type of pot used to cook the dal as well as the kind of lentils used.

What ingredients do we need to make the Dal Tadka Dhaba Style?

To make the dal tadka we need toor dal (arhar dal). I used cumin seeds, green & red chili, garlic, ginger and onion. As for spice powders I used chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and some hing. All these ingredients are tempered in ghee and seasoned with salt. I smoked the dal with coal and ghee. But it is an optional step. I like serving this with jeera chawal (cumin rice), roasted papad and fresh coriander.

What equipment do you need to make this Dal Tadka Dhaba Style?

We need a stock pot to boil the dal. A sauté pan to make the tadka. I like roasting the papad over the fire directly but you could fry it or make it in the microwave.

The recipe is simple and straightforward and doesn’t have any substitutes. I like serving this dal with rice or roti but you could serve it with bread as well. As for sides, we usually serve it with some lime pickle and vinegar onions. You can make a kachumber salad.

Once the dal is cooked it can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for upto 3 days. Now that we have covered how to make this recipe, let us get cooking. Happy Eating Ninjas!