Dal tends to firm as it sits, so make sure to add a splash or so of water if you’re reheating it. Stews and braises need acidity for balance. In this dish, lentils get a double dose of tartness from lime-marinated red onion and a drizzle of tangy yogurt.
Ingredients
4 servings
2
1
1
2
1½
2
1
½
1
1
½
Preparation
Step 1
Heat ghee in a medium pot over medium-high. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned around the edges, 5–7 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring often, just to take the edge off garlic, about 30 seconds. Add ⅓ cup water and simmer, stirring occasionally, until water evaporates, about 1 minute. Add split peas, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until split peas are very tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 12–14 minutes; season with salt. Cover with a lid and keep dal warm over low heat while you make the toppings.
Step 2
Finely grate zest from lime into a small bowl. Cut lime in half and squeeze juice into bowl (you’ll have about 2 Tbsp.). Add red onion, sugar, and a large pinch of salt and toss, squeezing onion with your hands to help it soften quickly.
Step 3
Mix yogurt and 2 Tbsp. water in a small bowl; season with salt.
Step 4
Serve dal over rice drizzled with salty yogurt and topped with onion and pepper.
Step 5
Do Ahead: Dal (without yogurt and onion) can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.
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Reviews (44)
Back to TopI always have these ingredients at home, so this has become a weeknight staple. So simple, but really satisfying. Because it is so simple, make sure all your spices are fresh, otherwise you'll probably need to add more than the recipe requires.
SF
Los Angeles, CA
7/27/2022
Good now let me read it instead of only showing reviews
Anonymous
5/26/2022
Made this recipe with red lentils and they cooked in 12 mins or so. The yogurt and onions definitely make it-- still feels like it's missing some extra veg.
Lu
Pittsburgh, PA
3/29/2022
The recipe keeps jumping away Is it intentional?I just started to eat plant based You are getting a lot of replies like this
Betty
San Diego
3/22/2022
I’ve made this recipe a few times, and it’s so incredibly delicious. I was surprised to read through so many negative comments below, but it probably does vary wildly depending on the type of bean you use. I use red lentils, and they were super soft and mushy right around 12 minutes like the recipe states. Since this recipe doesn’t have any veggies I also chopped two carrots in the food processor until they were very fine, added them to the mixture along with the lentils and a cup more of water, and this was my best tasting one! Just stick to red lentils and this recipe will be a total breeze.
Valeria
1/29/2021
I see after a pile of complaints, this recipe must have been updated from split peas to red lentils. If it wasn't for the intern that made the update only in the ingredients and not in the instructions, I new would have understood why so many people had used the wrong thing. Pretty lame job, editors.
Anonymous
1/16/2021
Kicking myself for not reading the reviews first. The Dal is simmering on my stove right now, going on about an hour of cook time. I am sure I have the correct ingredient, I went to my local Indian grocery and bought a package labeled Yellow Split Peas. I imagine this would work if the split peas were soaked overnight, not rinsed as the recipe states, it would have cooked in the 14 minutes accounted for. This was supposed to be my lunch tomorrow, so we will have to see what happens.
Julia P
Ulm, Germany
10/27/2020
Been making this for a little while now and editing steps but keeping pretty true to the ingredients and measurements. My lentils never cook in 15 minutes and I honestly don’t mind but that just screws up my timing. So yeah, I’ve experimented and what I’ve found to be best, at this point at least, cook the lentils as directed. Add powdered spices (I add a little powdered ginger, too) and in the meantime chop onions, and mince garlic and ginger with a microplane. Make the onion/lime and yogurt/salt mixture during this time as well. Just keep cooking down until things look nearly (20 mins?) ready and then cook onions, ginger, garlic and add to the lentils while the basmati rice is cooking. At this point, pretty much everything comes together beautifully (and as intended, I believe) and I have a very happy vegetarian fiancé and a very happy me. And oh, a little freshly chopped cilantro doesn’t hurt.
Mendocino, CA
10/13/2020
trash recipe. no instruction for type of yellow split pea. takes forever to cook, not "14 minutes", try an hour. super bland, way too little spice.
Anonymous
8/6/2020
As other reviewers have mentioned, there is some lack of information in this recipe. I would not consider the recipe incorrect, but the type of bean is not described well enough. I used “Yellow Split Peas”, whatever generic version you can get at an American grocery store. My dal has been boiling for almost an hour (which is also what the package directions say to do). It would be helpful for this recipe to be more specific about how to choose the right bean, since other reviewers seemed to have the correct type for this recipe. Obviously just saying yellow split peas on the package does not mean the same thing for everyone.
Anonymous
St. Louis
6/9/2020
It has now been 1 1/2 hours, and this dal is still hard. I used chana dal peas, soaked overnight. I ate it anyway, and it’s very bland. Double the spices, maybe more onion/ginger/garlic. And use some other yellow split peas because chana dal will not work for this.
Anonymous
Washington, DC
6/7/2020
Done it multiple time now, without the yogurt but with a bunch of frozen spinach and, and that's the most important, with a good drizzle of chhonk. I always pre-soak the lentils the day before to cut cooking time and improve the flavor. I add rinsed and firmly squished frozen spinach 10 minutes before serving.
Anonymous
France
5/28/2020
Used red lentils, powdered ginger, whole cardamom seeds, and cashewmilk yogurt. I cooked the onions low & slow at the beginning, essentially caramelizing them. During that time I made the red onions - I recommend making them early on to allow time to soften. My rend lentils took less than 15 minutes to cook. Delicious!!! Will definitely make many more times.
noramaye
Buffalo
5/9/2020
The comment from Nicboz is not accurate. I had yellow split peas, and they took upwards of an hour to fully soften. Sadaf brand- the catch is that in small text on the bag, it also said chana dal. I'm guessing other folks might've also purchased chana dal, which cooks much slower than yellow split peas (matar dal). This recipe was tasty! I didn't have much yogurt, so I mixed in buttermilk instead of water to thin it but keep it flavorful + increase quantity. The onions were amazing, and I would make as a topping for other dishes.
pdJeed
4/26/2020
I came here to educate you. Folks complaining about needing upwards of 45min, congratulations, you used green lentils. Folks that only needed the 15-20min, good for you!, you used red lentils which really range from gold to orange color. Needed somewhere closer to 30min? That's the brown variety. Use google for good. Great recipe. Don't hesitate to add extra spices.
nicboz
Orange County, CA
4/23/2020