Dal is a staple in most Indian households, and this North Indian Home Style Toor Dal (Arhar Dal), along with steamed rice, is my ultimate comfort food. Make it in a traditional pressure or an instant pot (vegetarian, can be easily made vegan and gluten-free).
I am also sharing 6 tempering variations, plus some more ideas to change it up a bit that you can try too.
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What Is Toor Dal
Toor Dal, also known as split pigeon peas, is a lentil popular in Indian cuisine.
It is also called arhar dal, tuvar dal, tuar dal, tuwar dal, tur dal, toovar dal, or peeli dal (yellow dal).
Toor Dal is yellow and has a slightly nutty flavor. It is a versatile ingredient used to make various dishes, such as soups, stews, curries, and rice dishes.
This dal is readily available in almost all Indian grocery stores or online.
Like other lentils and legumes, this dal stays good for 3-4 months when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. To increase its shelf life even further, store the dry dal in the refrigerator.
About North Indian Home Style Toor Dal Recipe
Dal (Lentils) is an integral part of most Indian meals. Every household makes dal for either lunch or dinner. Multiple types of lentils are available, and they can also be made in numerous ways, giving ample options for everyday meals.
Among all the lentils available (like chana dal, urad dal, moong dal, etc.), arhar dal is the most common lentil. I use it to make my Sambar, Malwa Dal, Dal Tadka, Dal Fry, etc., but I also make it for my everyday meals almost daily.
This North Indian Homestyle Tuvar Dal and steamed rice is comfort food for me and many I know.
It is nutritious, wholesome, protein-packed, needs minimal ingredients, and comes together in under 60 minutes.
You can cook arhar dal in a traditional stovetop pressure cooker or an instant pot. You can also cook it in a pan over the stovetop, but it takes a very long time to cook correctly; hence not recommended.
The recipe I have mentioned below requires a 3-quart instant pot or a 3-liter pressure cooker. If you want to double or triple the recipe, then use a bigger size pot or cooker. The time of cooking will remain the same.
My recipe to make tovar dal can be easily adapted and made vegan or gluten-free.
Here are a few more Indian dal recipes that you may like
- Homestyle Green Moong Dal
- Hyderabadi Masoor Ki Khatti Dal
- Malwa Dal
- Shahi Dal
- Dal Makhani
- Restaurant Style Yellow Dal Tadka
- Bengali Masoor Dal
- Cholar Dal
- Lauki Chana Dal
Ingredients
To Cook The Dal
You will need toor dal (yellow split pigeon pea lentils, arhar dal), water, salt, freshly squeezed lime juice (or lemon juice), and turmeric powder to cook the dal.
Add ½ cup of chopped tomatoes while cooking the arhar dal for a taste change.
Adding some cilantro (fresh coriander leaves) makes the dal very flavorful.
For The Tadka (Tempering)
A tadka is added to enhance the flavor of dal. I temper the dal with ghee, cumin seeds, garlic, asafetida (hing), and Kashmiri red chilli powder.
To make the recipe vegan, use coconut or peanut oil instead of ghee.
Skip adding asafetida for a gluten-free version.
How To Make North Indian Homestyle Toor Dal
Cook Toor Dal
In A Traditional Pressure Cooker
Wash 1 cup toor dal 2-3 times with water until the water runs clear.
Soak it in 3-4 cups of water for 30 minutes.
Drain the water and add the soaked dal to a pressure cooker.
Add 3 and ½ cups of water, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, and 1 teaspoon salt, and stir gently.
Close the lid and cook the dal for 1 whistle over high heat.
Now reduce the heat to low and cook for 12 minutes.
Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and whisk the dal well using a wire whisk.
Add 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice and mix well.
Add some boiling hot water if the arhar dal is thick for your liking, and mix well.
Check for salt and add more if needed.
In An Instant Pot
Wash 1 cup arhar dal 2-3 times with water until the water runs clear.
Soak it in 3-4 cups of water for 30 minutes.
Drain the water and add the soaked dal to an instant pot.
Add 3 cups of water, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, and 1 teaspoon salt, and stir gently.
Close the instant pot lid and set the valve to the sealing position.
Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 12 minutes at high pressure.
Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid.
Whisk the dal well using a wire whisk. Add 1 tablespoon lime juice and mix well.
Add some boiling hot water if the dal is too thick for your liking, and mix well.
Check for salt and add more if needed.
Temper Arhar Dal
Heat 2 tablespoon ghee in a small pan over medium-high heat.
Once the ghee is hot, add 2 teaspoon chopped garlic and fry until browned, stirring continuously.
Add ¼ teaspoon asafetida and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them crackle for 3-4 seconds.
Switch off the heat and add 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder to the pan.
Pour the tempering immediately over the dal and mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
To cook arhar dal in a microwave, wash and soak the dal. Drain the water and transfer the dal to a large microwave-safe bowl.
Add 3 and ½ cups of water, salt, and turmeric powder and mix. Place this bowl in the center of the microwave and cook uncovered for 20 minutes on high.
Oily toor dal is a variety of toor dal processed to contain more oil. This toor dal is usually used in frying and is not as commonly used in soups and stews.
Yes, soaking is a significant step before cooking the toovar dal. Soaking the lentils helps to remove phytic acid, which can inhibit the absorption of nutrients. It also helps to reduce cooking time.
1. Add chopped greens like spinach, kale, fenugreek leaves (methi), etc.
2. Add some sambar powder, goda masala, or pav bhaji masala for a taste change.
3. Add veggies to this dal, like drumsticks, bottle gourd, brinjal, lady’s fingers, etc.
Tadka Variations
Hing Jeera Red Chilli Tadka – You can keep it simple and give the yellow lentils a tadka of only cumin seeds, dry red chilies, and hing in ghee.
It is excellent for people looking for a No Onion, No Garlic version of this Dal.
Khatta Mitha Dal Tadka – Give arhar dal a tempering of ghee, hing, dry red chilies, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds (methi dana), cumin seeds, peanuts, tomatoes, red chili powder, curry leaves. Add tamarind pulp and grated jaggery and mix well.
Onion Green Chilli Tadka – Sometimes, I give my garlic tadka a break and add some finely chopped green chilies and thinly sliced onions to the tadka.
You can also add finely chopped garlic and ginger along with green chilies.
Tomato Dal Tadka is one of my favorite tadka to add to the dal.
You will need ghee, dry red chilies, hing, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, finely chopped garlic, finely chopped onions, red chili powder, and chopped tomatoes.
Punjabi Dal Tadka – This is a simple tadka made in many households.
You will need ghee, cumin seeds, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and red chili powder for this one.
Serving Suggestions
I love a simple homestyle meal of toor dal, a dry sabji, steamed rice or roti, and some laccha onions. You can serve roasted papad and a simple kachumber salad on the side to make the meal more indulgent.
You can also serve this dal with Indian bread (phulka, naan, tandoori roti), steamed rice, jeera rice, or veg pulao.
To make it special, sprinkle some Crispy Fried Onions on top, just before serving.
Arhar dal can also be sipped as soup on cold winter or fall evenings.
Storage Suggestions
Arhar Dal will last 4-5 days when stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in a pan or microwave before serving.
Add hot water to adjust the consistency, as refrigeration makes it a little thick.
You can freeze the cooked dal in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Thaw, reheat, and give it a fresh tempering before serving.
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Recipe Card
North Indian Home Style Toor Dal (Arhar Dal)
Ingredients
To Cook The Dal
- 1 cup toor dal (arhar dal, split yellow pigeon peas)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
For Tempering
- 2 tablespoons ghee (replace with oil for vegan)
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing) (skip for gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
Instructions
Cook Toor Dal
In A Traditional Pressure Cooker
- Wash dal 2-3 times with water until the water runs clear.
- Soak it in 3-4 cups of water for 30 minutes.
- Drain the water and add the soaked dal to a pressure cooker.
- Add 3 and ½ cups of water, turmeric powder, and salt, and stir gently.
- Close the lid of the cooker and cook the dal for 1 whistle over high heat.
- Now reduce the heat to low and cook for 12 minutes.
- Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the lid and whisk the dal well using a wire whisk. Add lime juice and mix well.
- Add some boiling hot water if the dal is thick for your liking and mix well.
- Check for salt and add more if needed.
In An Instant Pot
- Wash dal 2-3 times with water until the water runs clear.
- Soak it in 3-4 cups of water for 30 minutes.
- Drain the water and add the soaked dal to an instant pot.
- Add 3 cups of water, turmeric powder, and salt, and stir gently.
- Close the lid of the instant pot and set the valve to the sealing position.
- Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 12 minutes at high pressure.
- Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
- Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid.
- Whisk the dal well using a wire whisk. Add lime juice and mix well.
- Add some boiling hot water if the dal is thick for your liking and mix well.
- Check for salt and add more if needed.
Temper Arhar Dal
- Heat ghee in a small pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the ghee is hot, add garlic and fry until browned, stirring continuously.
- Add asafetida and cumin seeds and let them crackle for 3-4 seconds.
- Switch off the heat and add chili powder to the pan.
- Pour the tempering immediately over the dal and mix well. Serve hot.
Salim Velji
Very good recipe already tried once am making again today thank you so much Salim
Juana
cooked it on the stove top it came out good I did add a jalapeño for a bit of more flavor 😋
Heather
So simple and tasty. I used the instapot method – all in at once and less washing up. Love the list of variations in tadka, thank you!
Neha Mathur
Good to know 🙂
Wanda
Do you have to use a pressure cooker? I don’t own one. Could you tell me how to cook the dal on the stove top? Thank you.
Neha Mathur
To cook the dal on the stovetop, use double the amount of water. Bring water, dal, salt, and turmeric to a boil. Cover the pot, simmer the heat to low, and cook for 40-50 minutes until the dal is softened. Add more water if required.
Tom H
Thanks for the recipe! Most of the toor dal I find is split, but there is some rare whole available. Which do you use? I would prefer to buy whole, then I can also use it for Puerto Rican arroz con gandules, one of my favorite dishes, but I’m not sure if that would change things. Thank you!
Neha Mathur
We use split Toor dal at home. If you make it with the whole, the result will be very different.
Eleanor Harjandar Singh
I’m trying it now, will update you on the results later
Thanks
Neha Mathur
I hope it turns out best for you 🙂
Michael Adler
I grow my own pigeon peas. All the pictures of cooking toor dal look like yellow split peas. Do I need to find a way to remove the seed coats of my pigeon peas to use them for this recipe?
Neha Mathur
Yes Michael, I guess so.