Masoor dal recipes: 5 easy red lentil dishes for every meal

The five dishes share one ingredient and a few rules. Split masoor needs no soaking for the dal dishes: a rinse and it is ready, and one whistle in a pressure cooker does the softening. The khichdi soaks its dal for a short 15 minutes with the rice, and the dosa is the real exception — its dal soaks for four to five hours because it becomes the batter, then ferments for eight to ten. Water is the only other variable: three cups per cup of dal for the tadka dal, four cups for the brothy soup, one and a half cups to half a cup of dal for the thick porridge, and five cups of hot water for the rice-and-dal khichdi. Leftovers of any of the five keep in the fridge for up to two days.

The nutrition underneath: per 100 g raw, masoor carries 24.35 g of protein, 10.43 g of fibre, 7.06 mg of iron and 0.75 g of fat (IFCT 2017). A katori of cooked dal from 30 g of dry masoor lands at about 97 kcal with 7.3 g of protein, the measure behind every bowl figure below. The complete table sits on the masoor dal nutrition page.

The masoor dal porridge turns the dal into breakfast in 25 minutes: half a cup of lentils in one and a half cups of water, whisked smooth and finished with a ghee-cumin tempering and grated carrot, with a plain, unsalted portion set aside for a baby before the tempering and salt. Four small bowls at about 131 kcal and 6.1 g of protein each.

The masoor dal dosa is the batch-cooker's breakfast: the soaked dal is ground and fermented overnight into a no-rice, no-urad batter, and the cooking takes 30 minutes for eight soft dosas. Two dosas come to about 228 kcal with 12.2 g of protein and 5.2 g of fibre, and the page notes a quick same-day option with cooked rice ground in for when the overnight wait is too long.

The masoor dal recipe is the everyday one: one cup of dal, turmeric and salt pressure cooked in three cups of water — one whistle, then six minutes on low — under a ghee, cumin, garlic and hing tadka. The table is set in 25 minutes, and a bowl is about 229 kcal with 12.2 g of protein and 5.2 g of fibre, served over rice or with phulkas.

Masoor dal khichdi is the one-pot lunch: two parts basmati rice to one part dal — one cup of rice, half a cup of dal — tempered with ghee, cumin and hing and pressure cooked in five cups of hot water, about 45 minutes start to finish with Instant Pot timings noted. A bowl is about 327 kcal with 10.1 g of protein.

The masoor dal soup closes the day light: one cup of dal simmered partly covered for 15 minutes in four cups of water, over a cumin, garlic and ghee tadka, finished with black pepper and coriander. One pot, 35 minutes, four bowls at about 199 kcal with 12.3 g of protein and 5.6 g of fibre.

For the same lentil with a thicker, scoopable finish on another evening, the tadka dal is the pick, and any of the five reheats well the next day with a splash of hot water. The masoor dal hub has the storage and buying notes that keep the rotation going.

New to the lentil? Start with the tadka dal — 25 minutes is the whole commitment, one whistle plus six minutes on low. Cooking light for dinner? The soup. With a baby at home, the porridge sets a plain portion aside (check with your paediatrician before starting solids); a busy week makes the dosa's overnight batter worth setting up, and khichdi is the comfort pick for cold evenings. For red lentil recipe ideas beyond these five, the same dal works in any dish that calls for split red lentils; the only cooking rule is full softening, which split masoor reaches without a long soak.

What is masoor dal?

Masoor dal is the split, skinned lentil — IFCT 2017's 'Lentil, dal' — the small orange-red lentil sold as red lentils outside India, the one that cooks soft without a long soak, so it suits the tadka, khichdi, soup, dosa and porridge here.

How much protein in masoor dal?

24.35 g per 100 g of raw dal (IFCT 2017), so the one-cup recipes on this page put about 48.7 g of protein in the pot, shared four ways. Per bowl it depends on the dish: about 12.2 g in a bowl of tadka dal, 12.3 g in a bowl of soup and 10.1 g in a bowl of khichdi.

Which masoor dal is best?

For these five recipes, the split red lentil — dhuli masoor — is the one to buy: it is the form these five recipes use, and it cooks soft without a long soak. The which masoor dal is best guide covers the choice in full.

Should masoor dal be soaked overnight?

None of the five recipes on this page soaks the dal overnight, and none needs to: split masoor softens after one whistle plus a few minutes on low. The dosa is the exception, where the dal soaks for four to five hours because it becomes the batter, and that batter then ferments overnight. The khichdi adds a short 15-minute soak with its rice; for dal, soup and porridge, a rinse is enough.

Does masoor dal have protein?

Yes — 24.35 g per 100 g raw (IFCT 2017), ahead of toor and moong dal. Across this roundup a bowl of tadka dal carries about 12.2 g, soup 12.3 g and khichdi 10.1 g, and two dosas manage 12.2 g.

Is masoor dal good for health?

Per 100 g raw, masoor dal carries 24.35 g of protein, 10.43 g of fibre, 7.06 mg of iron and 0.75 g of fat (IFCT 2017), and its glycemic index is 25, the mean of five boiled-lentil tests in the University of Sydney database, in the low band. The studies on what pulses may do for health, with their limits, are on the masoor dal benefits page.