Masoor Dal or red lentil dal is an aromatic and delicious Indian curry. Simple to make and naturally gluten-free, it’s a quick and healthy vegan dinner.

Curry is one of my husband and my favourite things to make and eat. He even wooed me with a mouthwatering vegetable curry that took almost a day to make. Twenty years later I’m still waiting on another serve of that curry. I guess it’s stuck in a void with the homemade dog house I was promised for our beautiful dog who passed on 4 years ago. Good thing our boy slept inside, huh?

Thankfully, this Masoor dal does not take a day to make.

Dal (also spelled dhal or daal) translates to “lentil” but most understand it to be a thick soupy curry made with lentils. This Indian red lentil dal is ready in around 40-minutes from start to finish including the roasted eggplant. It is made deliciously flavourful with a tarka or tadka.

WHAT IS TARKA OR TADKA?

Tarka (also called tadka) is simply tempering aromatic spices in hot oil to release their full flavour. For our Masoor dal today the spices are tempered in oil with fresh tomato, onions, garlic, ginger and chillies. The cooked lentils are then added to the tarka to infuse. So good!