North Indian
Dal Fry (Mixed Lentils)
Dal Fry (Mixed Lentils) is North Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre and the protein alongside. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup toor dal
- 1/2 cup masoor dal
- 3.5 cups water
- 3/4 tsp turmeric
- 2 onion
- 2 tomato
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 green chilies
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 3 tbsp neutral oil
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp salt
How to cook it
- Rinse the dals and pressure cook them with turmeric, salt, and water until soft, then mash lightly.
- Heat the oil in a pan and let the cumin seeds sizzle, then cook the garlic, ginger, and green chilies for a minute.
- Add the onion and cook until golden brown, then stir in the tomato, coriander, red chili powder, and garam masala.
- Cook until the masala turns thick and glossy, then pour in the cooked dal.
- Simmer together for 8 minutes until well blended, finish with cilantro, and serve.
Serve it with
A North Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Dal Fry (Mixed Lentils), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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The cooked vegetable
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What it is eaten with
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The sharp little thing
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Something cool and fresh
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand. Dal Fry (Mixed Lentils) carries none of them. That is a checked answer rather than an ingredient list nobody read.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | No | |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Bands, not numbers. Dinejot does not weigh anybody's food, so it says light, moderate or hearty and stops there. This dish was read and set by hand.
- Calorie band
- Moderate
- Protein
- Medium
- Protein quality
- Partial
- Food groups it covers
- Pulses and Vegetables
- How this was set
- Hand audited
When to cook it
Dal Fry (Mixed Lentils) takes about 45 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is a fair bit of work. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
Watch someone make it
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More to cook
Cooked from the same things
Other dishes built on toor dal, onion, and tomato.
From the same kitchens
More cooking from North India, South India, West India, East India, and Northeast India.
Does the same job on the plate
Swap any of these in when you want a meal the same shape.
Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.