10 Indian Dal Recipes for Anyone Who Loves Lentils

Dal, or pulses, are the most common Indian household staple dish you'll find. Second only to rice, you'll find a multitude of dals in every Indian kitchen and grocery store. Commonly referred to as 'lentils' in Western countries, they come in all sorts of varieties and are ubiquitous to Indian cooking, often functioning as the main protein source for many Indian vegetarians across the country. Whether you're using them to make your favorite Indian dishes or looking for ways to amp up your fiber intake, every home cook should know how to prepare some essential dal dishes. And don't worry: once you purchase your lentils, you can even use them to make a host of other legume-forward dishes, like hearty soups and power-packed salads. But first, let's start with the basics.

You have to learn to walk before you can run, and Aarti Sequeira's recipe for everyday Masoor Dal is just that. It's homestyle, it's simple, and it's comforting — as comforting as a meal made by your mom. With this recipe, you'll learn the perfect technique to cook your lentils and even be introduced to a tadka, or tempering, essential to almost any Indian dish.

If you've ever eaten at an Indian lunch buffet, perhaps at your favorite local joint, you might've been introduced to dal and just, well, not known it! While many restaurants often serve Dal Makhani, or dal infused with cream and/or butter, they almost always have a standard dal on the menu. This one is from Gandhi Mahal in Minneapolis, MN, and uses canola oil to make the dal vegan-friendly and completely dairy-free. Pair it with steamed basmati rice for a comforting dinner.

Dal has many styles, from humble homemade variants to restaurant-style recipes, often laced with cream. Dal fry is a variation often found in dhabas — roadside cafes or stalls in India that offer some of the best food at the most budget-friendly prices. It's an everyday dal that pairs the lentils with a tadka, or roasted spice tempering, for a deep, complex flavor. While the dish can be made with toor dal (split pigeon peas), this version opts for the classic masoor dal (red lentils), which might have to be cooked a little longer to become tender.

While dal is usually a standalone dish, functioning as a soup, stew, or side dish for your grain of choice, it also makes for a great, multipurpose ingredient in many Indian appetizers. India celebrates its unique texture and heft with vadas, or fried fritters akin to savory donuts. Multiple types of dal are often ground together with soaked white rice, then the mixture is stirred with select spices and seasonings and, in this case, a bit of yogurt before being fried to a crisp. Served with a herbaceous cilantro chutney or, in the South, a thick coconut chutney, these vadas are often served during festivals and celebrations or during the rainy, monsoon season.

Nothing pairs better with dal than yogurt. It's a cool contrast to the aromatics and warming spices used in a classic dal and complements the dish beautifully, creating a complete play on your palate. While many people pair dal with raita, or a thinner yogurt dip, often studded with cucumbers, this recipe pairs dal with a dollop of dahi — the Hindi word for yogurt — to give you creamy on creamy. Pair it with wedges of buttery, toasted naan for the perfect bite.

Every culture has that one meal that you eat when you're sick. Whether down with a flu or stuck with the common cold, you often need a bowl of something hot and comforting — something that feels like a warm hug — and khichdi is that meal. A rice and lentil porridge, it is hearty and mild, soothing even a bad stomachache with its soft, smooth texture and silkiness. Often compared to congee, Aarti Sequeira tops hers with roasted, salted peanuts, crispy coconut flakes and aromatic curry leaves for a flavorful bite.

Dal is a humble dish, but that doesn't mean it can't be an indulgent one. Luscious and rich, dal makhani — or dal with cream — is mostly made with whole black lentils, called sabut ural dal, and a small amount of red kidney beans. While creamy dal actually originated in Pakistan and brought to India during Partition, it gained fame across India with its many iterations, from dal bukhara to this dal makhani. While this dish is traditionally made in a clay pot, Nidhi Jalan uses a pressure cooker to speed up the process and let you experience this luxury at home.

Dal is a great blank canvas, if you will. A base of lentils with simple spices, it lends itself to being doctored up, absorbing rich ingredients like cream and butter while also playing well with a host of vegetables. Traditionally, dal is a component of a multi-part meal that consists of a carbohydrate source, such as roti or chawal (rice), the dal, and a few vegetable sabzis, or side dishes. Here, we give you a 2-in-1 recipe by adding cucumbers directly to the dal. The cooked cucumbers become buttery, soft and luscious, and offer pops of texture against a smooth dal base.

Homestyle Indian cuisine consists of multiple types of dal, or lentils. Visit a local Indian grocery store, and you'll find the aisle lined with different lentil types, varying in color, cook time, and constitution. Chef Suvir Saran's dal recipe featured here foregoes the classic red Masoor dal for yellow moong dal lentils, made from split and hulled moong beans and packed with protein and micronutrients. While this recipe relies on staples, the tempering also uses panch phoran, a classic Indian five-spice blend used heavily in Bengali cuisine.