Here in north India I have seen that ‘Dal Fry’ is cooked with any & every kind of dal. But in Bengal this ‘dal fry’ is cooked only with whole green gram/green moong daal, and called as ‘Tadka’. Sometimes scrambled egg , chicken keema or mutton keema also added into this to enhance the taste. Apart from the vegetarian version, the ‘Egg Tadka’ is much popular & considered as a quick take away food. People use to buy this from local road side shops, it comes in a clay pot with hot handmade rotis.
Tadka was a favorite dish within our family. Ma used to cook this at least 3-4 times in a month, especially in the winter. Later I started to cook following Ma’s instructions. I always add some butter at the end whenever I cook this, I just love the buttery taste, & flavor which gel very well with the spicy dal. So here is my Tadka recipe. It’s a very simple & basic one. Can be made in a jiffy.
Dal Fry/ Tadka Dal aka Tadka
Ingredients
- Whole green gram/green moong daal- 200g (wash & soaked in water for 2-3 hrs)
- Green chilies- 4-5 (roughly chopped)
- Cumin powder- 1 tbsp
- Coriander powder- 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
- Onion- 1 big size (finely sliced)
- Tomato- 1 big size (roughly chopped)
- Ginger paste- 1 tsp
- Garlic- 10-12 cloves (roughly chopped)
- Dry red chilies- 2 (broken)
- Salt
- Garam masala powder- 1/4 tsp
- Dollops of butter (optional)
- Fresh chopped coriander leaves- 1 tbsp for garnishing
- Mustard oil- 4 tbsp
Method
Pressure cook the soaked dal with 4-5 whistle. Cares should be taken not to over boil the dal, else the dal will not hold its shape and become too mushy. So adjust the whistle accordingly. I suggest check after 4 whistles.
Now heat oil in a deep frying pan. Tamper with dry red chilies. Add the sliced onions, fry till light brown in color. Next to add chopped garlic, chopped tomatoes, ginger paste, salt, cumin powder, coriander powder, green chilies & turmeric powder. Fry this on medium heat till the masala starts leaving oil. Add boiled dal, mix well & cook on low flame for 2-3 minutes. Now add 1 cup of water. Mix & cook on medium flame till the raw smell of masala goes. Keep stirring in between to prevent burning from the bottom of the pan. Add garam masala powder, mix & garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
Serve hot with dollops of butter. And make sure that you have made 2-3 rotis extra today!
Note:
Adjust the amount of water according to your desire of thicker or thinner Dal fry. I like my ‘Dal fry’ on the thicker side.
If you want to cook ‘Egg Tadka’, just make scrambled egg/egg bhurji of 1 egg (without salt) & mix with dal fry at the end.
