Sabut Masoor Dal or Brown Lentil Soup is a well known dish in Northern part of India and is a part of daily food in many households. Masoor Dal is very easy and quick to prepare unlike some other dals such as Rajma, Kala Chana or Dal Makhani which takes longer to cook. Being rich in protein, Masoor Dal is a very tasty and fulfilling dish and is usually served with green veggies, lemon and curd/yogurt. 100g Brown lentils or Massor Dal provides around 8% protein of adult daily intake requirement. Apart from Protein, Brown lentils are also rich source of Potassium (10%), Iron (18%), Vitamin B6(10%) and Magnesium (9%). There are many other variants of Lentils however in this article we cover Masoor Dal Recipe aka Brown Lentil Soup Recipe.
Masoor Dal offers various health benefits due to which many people keep it as a regular part of their diet. High content of Iron helps fight fatigues while adequate amount of fiber improves your digestion. It also makes you feel full for a long time and hence helps you control your hunger and reduce or manage weight. If you want to reduce weight, lentils may be a good option to include in your diet. A well balanced diet and some moderate exercise is the key to keep your weight on check. Refer recipe card and detailed steps to make Masoor Dal aka Brown Lentil Soup at home.
Making Masoor Dal at home
In this section we will cover in detail steps required to make Masoor dal at home. Masoor dal recipe is a simple recipe but we have included pictures of various milestones so you can check your progress as you prepare the dish.
Prerequisite to make Masoor dal at home
Though it is not a mandatory step but if you want you can soak Masoor Dal for approx 30 mins before you cook the dish. This will soften lentil and the Masoor dal will cook quickly.
Preparing Masoor Dal at home
Wash Masoor Dal or Brown Lentils and put it in a pressure cooker. Now add 2.5 cup water and put the pressure cooker on gas. Take 3 whistles on high and 3 whistles on low flame. If you have already soaked Masoor Dal then you need to take 2 whistles on high and 2 on low flame. How much time you need to pressure cook mainly depends on for how long lentils have been soaked in water.
Meanwhile, finely chop Onions, Tomatoes, Green chillies and Coriander Leaves. Also, grate ginger and garlic to create a paste. Some people prefer to make long dices of ginger, garlic and green chillies to get the flavour. This is however a matter of personal choice and you can choose either of the options.
Once Masoor Dal has been pressure cooked, you are ready to prepare gravy. Add Vegetable Oil in a deep pan and add some Asafoetida, Cumin seeds, Bay Leaves and whole Red chilli to it. Once the Cumin seeds turn brown add some onions, green chillies and ginger – garlic paste.
Once onions will start turning golden brown, add chopped tomatoes.
Now you need to keep stirring the mixture using a spoon so that it does not burn. Cook for a minute or two and now add Turmeric, Red Chilli powder, Salt, Coriander powder and Garam Masala. Keep stirring the paste as you add these ingredients. Add little water in case the paste becomes too dry and starts to stick. Don’t add too much water or else the spices will not cook properly.
Once the gravy gets ready, add Masoor Dal along with left over water used for pressure cooking Massor Dal to it. Add 1/2 cup additional water to the gravy if required.
Set the gas on medium flame and cook for another 10 mins and your Masoor dal is ready.
That is all it takes to prepare the Masoor Dal. Serve the dish with a teaspoon of Clarified butter and some freshly chopped Coriander leaves on top.
Chef Recommendation for Masoor Dal
- We recommend serving Masoor Dal with Steamed Basmati Rice.
- While cooking you can also use clarified butter in place of Vegetable oil. This will add a different flavour to Masoor Dal.
Discover more Recipes
And that is not all folks! Shall we take this opportunity to invite you to discover more tasty and yummy recipes in our food wonderland.
- Check more such tasty main course recipes in our Recipes section.
- How about trying these similar recipes –
- Did you check our Dessert section for some sweet delicacies.
Masoor Dal Recipe
Ingredients
Main Ingredients for Masoor Dal
- 1/3 cup Brown Lentils Masoor Dal / Sabut Masoor
- 1 medium size Onion Pyaz
- 2 medium size Tomato Tamatar
- 2 garlic pieces Lahsun
- 1 inch ginger Adrak
- 10 g Green Chillies Hari Mirch
- 1 tsp Salt As per taste (Namak)
- 1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds Jeera
- Pinch of Asafoetida Hing
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 Whole Red chillies
- 1/2 tsp Red Chillies powder Lal Mirch powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder Haldi
- 2 tsp Coriander Powder Dhaniya powder
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- 1.5 tbsp Vegetable Oil To cook
Garnishing
- Few Coriander leaves for garnishing
Instructions
Preparation Steps to make Masoor Dal
- Wash Masoor Dal or Brown Lentils and put it in a pressure cooker. Now add 2.5 cup water and put the pressure cooker on gas. Take 3 whistles on high and 3 whistles on low flame.1/3 cup Brown Lentils
- Meanwhile, finely chop Onions, Tomatoes, Green chillies and Coriander Leaves. Also, grate ginger and garlic to create a paste.1 medium size Onion, 2 medium size Tomato, 1 inch ginger, 10 g Green Chillies, Few Coriander leaves, 2 garlic pieces
How to make Masoor Dal
- Add Vegetable Oil in a deep pan and add some Asafoetida, Cumin seeds, Bay Leaves and whole Red chilli to it.1 medium size Onion, 1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds, Pinch of Asafoetida, 2 Bay leaves, 2 Whole Red chillies, 1.5 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- Once the Cumin seeds turn brown add some onions, green chillies and ginger – garlic paste.1 medium size Onion, 1 inch ginger, 10 g Green Chillies, 2 garlic pieces
- Once onions will start turning golden brown, add chopped tomatoes.2 medium size Tomato
- Now you need to keep stirring the mixture using a spoon so that it does not burn. Cook for a minute or two and now add Turmeric, Red Chilli powder, Salt, Coriander powder and Garam Masala. Keep stirring the paste as you add these ingredients. Add little water in case the paste becomes too dry and starts to stick. Don’t add too much water or else the spices will not cook properly.1 tsp Salt, 1/2 tsp Red Chillies powder, 1 tsp Turmeric Powder, 2 tsp Coriander Powder, 1 tsp Garam Masala
- Once the gravy gets ready, add Masoor Dal along with left over water used for pressure cooking Massor Dal to it. Add 1/2 cup additional water to the gravy if required.1/3 cup Brown Lentils
- Set the gas on medium flame and cook for another 10 mins and your Masoor dal is ready.
- That is all it takes to prepare the Masoor Dal. Serve the dish with a teaspoon of Clarified butter and some freshly chopped Coriander leaves on top.
Notes
- We recommend serving Masoor Dal with Steamed Basmati Rice.
- While cooking you can also use clarified butter in place of Vegetable oil. This will add a different flavour to Masoor Dal.
