Whole Masoor Dal (Brown Lentil Curry) | Beginner’s Attempt

For my first recipe at Home on a Plate, I learned how to cook whole masoor dal (brown lentil curry). It is the perfect choice for a first recipe- not only because we constantly stock our pantry with lentils, but because the dish’s simplicity, vibrance, and lightness have made it a staple of South Asian cuisine.

Dal is easy to make, whether you use a stovetop pressure cooker or an instant pot (this recipe uses the former). It is a nutritious meal that you can eat on its own or complement with toast, flatbread or rice.

What is Whole Masoor Dal?

Masoor dal is an Urdu and Hindi term that usually refers to a dish of red lentils (like this one).

Masoor dal can either be split, in which case it appears reddish orange, or whole. Whole masoor dal appears brown due to the colour of the husk on the outside of the red lentil.

How I Learned to Cook Whole Masoor Dal

Preparation

To prepare, I washed and soaked the lentils in cold water for approximately 40 minutes. Note that if you increase the soaking time, you will need to reduce the pressure-cooking time later on.

Making the Masala

Towards the end of the soaking time, I sautéed (fried quickly in a small amount of oil) the garlic and ginger on medium heat.

I used 6 cubes of garlic to increase flavour but you can decrease this amount to 4 or 2 if you prefer a milder flavour. The amount of ginger cubes should be half the amount of garlic cubes.

I haven’t yet attempted this recipe with fresh garlic and ginger, but for frozen cubes you will want to wait until the cubes have melted. 

As soon as the garlic and ginger cubes melted, I added the spices and mixed.

The mix of garlic, ginger, and spices is what forms the masala; this acts as the flavourful base for the dal. You can adjust any of these spices to your taste.

Cooking the Lentils

I drained the lentils and mixed these with the masala. Then I added four times the amount of water than lentils (e.g., if you use 250g of lentils, add 1l of water) to the pot and stirred.

Once done, I put the lid on the pot and started pressure-cooking at high pressure on medium heat.

When the cooker started whistling, I lowered the heat and allowed the lentils to continue pressure-cooking for around 12 minutes.

This cooking time may need to be increased or reduced depending on how long you soaked the lentils beforehand.

When this time was up, I gradually released the steam from the pressure-cooker before lifting the lid.

When I lifted the lid, I added a handful of fresh coriander leaves and a few whole green chilli peppers.

You can add half a cup of water if you prefer a thinner consistency, but note that it will thicken as it cools.

Then I put the lid back on and continued cooking the lentils at low heat for 2 minutes to allow the flavour of the coriander and chilli to infuse into the dal.

What Has Whole Masoor Dal Taught Me?

Cooking whole masoor dal has introduced me to some essential skills I will need to master to put together more advanced dishes in the future.

These include using a pressure cooker, seasoning well, and being able to adapt to differences that may occur between different batches of ingredients.

This whole masoor dal recipe is one I have learned from my mother and refined over multiple attempts. While my mum is an experienced cook, I myself am a novice. If you have any tips or recommendations, feel free to try this recipe and add your feedback in the comments!