Bengali Masoor Dal Recipe – Easy Red Lentils Soup

Masoor Dal – A recipe that is a staple dish in everyday Bengali Cuisine

There are days when I just don’t feel like cooking but I still need to eat something filling or feed my child something with a rich source of protein which doesn’t take more than 15-20 minutes to cook.   On those days, Masoor dal is the perfect go-to-recipe – red lentil soup cooked in the traditional Bengali style using only a handful of ingredients. Eaten with a plate of plain white rice and sometimes accompanied with an omelet, it is a comforting meal.

A Staple in Bengali Cooking

In many Bengali households, mushurir dal is on the meal table almost on a daily basis.  For a beginner cook, Bengali or Indian cuisine may seem overwhelming because of the ingredients and steps involved.  However, this is the perfect beginner-friendly dish.  For the basic Bengali Masoor dal recipe, you only need a handful of ingredients which you probably already have in your kitchen.  And if you can make this dish, you will have mastered an everyday comforting meal and you’ll never go hungry!

Nutritional Benefits of Red Lentils

Masoor dal, or red lentils are a rich source of protein and fiber.  100 grams of cooked lentils has 9 grams of protein and 7.9 grams of fiber.  No wonder it’s so filling! Not only that, red lentils contain important vitamins and minerals such as iron, magnesium, and folate.  Folate is important especially for pregnant women to help in fetal brain development.  You can check more health benefits of red lentils here.

Recipe for this Soupy Lentil Dish

There are countless variations of this lentil dish depending on which region your family is from, whether Indian or Bengali.  I will share my version and how my family has always made it.  You have the option to add other ingredients such as tempered mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chilis, panch phoron (or panch phoran) (five spice mix), nigella seeds, and even red chilis.  Some people also cook this red lentil dal using a pressure cooker.  I prefer to use the old-fashioned stove-top method.  Read on for my method.

Key Ingredients you will need

• 1 cup red lentils (soaked for 30 min or longer)
• 5-6 cups of water
• 1 small onion finely sliced
• 4-5 garlic cloves julienned
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 whole medium bay leaf
• 1.5 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp mustard oil
• 1-2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
• 1-2 tbsp cilantro chopped

Directions

Wash and rinse the red lentils in your cooking pot a couple of times. Cover the lentils with water and soak for 30 minutes or more, depending on the kind of red lentils you are using. If you are using split red lentils, 30 minutes is fine. If you are using whole red lentils, soaking for longer is necessary.  Soaking before cooking ensures that the dal will cook quickly.

Rinse the lentils once more and drain the water out.  To this rinsed dal, add 5-6 cups of water.  

Add the whole medium bay leaf, salt, and turmeric powder. Mix it with a wooden spoon and put the pot over high heat.

Once it comes to a bowl, reduce heat to medium/low and let simmer until dal is fully cooked. Be sure to stir once in a while.  This should not take more than 15-20 minutes if you have soaked the lentils beforehand.

Optional but highly recommended: Once you see the dal has fully cooked, use a dal ghotni (wooden hand masher) to mash up the dal.

While the lentil is cooking, in a small pan or skillet, heat up 1 tbsp mustard oil along with 1-2 tbsp of canola or vegetable oil over medium/high heat.  Toss in the finely sliced onions.

Once the onions soften, add the sliced garlic and stir. At this point, leave the onions and garlic to brown, stirring occasionally. Turn down the heat if you need to, in order to prevent them from burning.  

When the onions and garlic are completely sauteed and golden brown, add this tempered mix along to the cooked dal. Bring the mixture to a boil again to let the flavors meld together.

Taste for salt and add more if needed.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

Notes: Depending on the availability of ingredients in my pantry, I sometimes stir in a dollop of ghee at the end.  This makes the dal a little richer.  This is good to do if you are serving it to guests.  But totally optional if you are looking to keep things healthy.

Notes about pressure cooker

I’ve tried cooking dal in a pressure cooker once and this is certainly an option if you’d like to save time.  But I’ve found that I can control the texture using the stove-top method and can always add more water if needed.  The amount of water to add will probably vary if using the pressure cooker method. There are many online dal recipes using the pressure cooker method. I am linking to one here.  Please follow the manual for your specific cooker for safe pressure release.

Dishes to pair this dal with

You can have this everyday dal with other dishes such as dry sabji (vegetables), mach bhaja (fried fish), vegetable curry, or any meat dish, all with a simple pot of rice (plain or basmati).  In our household, we often save the dal for last which makes it a very satisfying dish.

How to store the cooked dal

This dal can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for a week.  You may also freeze portion size amounts. I do this often and it saves a lot of time, especially when you need an instant meal.  You can definitely add this to your collection of freezer meal recipes.

Variations

There are a number of ways people change up the flavor of this basic dish simply by adding a few additional ingredients. For example, at the time of tempering the onions and garlic, you could add in a few dry red chillies. Or you can add a pinch of panch phoron or cumins seeds.  Another way to make this dal would be to toss in spinach after the onions and garlic have lightly browned. Add this entire mixture to the boiled dal and you have yourself a nutritious spinach dal with an unbeatable flavor. Actually, depending on the ingredients you use, you can make many variations giving the dish a unique taste each time.

My final thoughts on making Masoor Dal 

While my recipe is not the only way to make Bengali style lentil soup, you will find your tastebuds surprised especially if you’ve never had this version.  It is a dish that does not require too many whole spices or even ingredients.  The required ingredients – red lentils, ghee, mustard oil, bay leaf, and turmeric powder can typically be found in any Indian grocery store.  

I’d love to hear your thoughts on making this wholesome everyday dish which is packed with unique flavors.  Please comment below.

Masoor Dal – A Must Have Recipe in Bengali Cooking