Masoor dal porridge
Preparation Time
5 minutes
Cooking Time
20 minutes
Difficulty Level
easy
Meal Type
Breakfast
Serves 4
Key Ingredients
- Ghee (half a tablespoon kept back for serving)
About This Recipe
This porridge leans on one fact about the lentil: cooked masoor dal collapses into a smooth puree with no grinding, so a plain portion can be set aside for a baby. The masoor dal hub explains the lentil behind it, and the masoor dal for babies page covers when and how to introduce it; always check with your paediatrician before you start solids.
The ratio keeps the texture thick. Three parts of water to one part of dal, here one and a half cups to half a cup, cooks the dal into a thick, smooth porridge that mashes easily against the side of a bowl. For a baby, start with the porridge thin but not watery for 4 to 5 days and gradually increase its thickness to slurry consistency, well mashed or pureed, as the feeding guidelines put it. The tempering and the salt go in after the baby's portion is set aside, and that portion cools to lukewarm before it is fed. The rest of the pot turns into a red lentil porridge breakfast for the whole family.
A pressure cooker keeps the porridge one-pot and hands-off, and the dal breaks down faster than on the stove. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to two days.
Ingredient List
Serving Size:
1x
2x
3x
Porridge
- Masoor dal (red lentils) — 1/2 cup
- Water — 1 1/2 cups
- Turmeric Powder — 1/4 tsp
- Ghee (half a tablespoon kept back for serving) — 1 1/2 tbsp
- Cumin Seeds — 1/2 tsp
- Carrot, finely grated — 1 small
- Salt — 1/4 tsp
- Fresh coriander leaves, chopped — 1 tbsp
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Serving Suggestions
Serve the baby's plain portion lukewarm at the baby's usual meal time: thin but not watery for the first days, then mashed thicker as the days pass. For the family bowl, top it with the reserved ghee and serve with chopped coriander; a squeeze of lemon lifts it for grown-ups. More red lentil meals are in the masoor dal recipes roundup.
Tips for Cooking Masoor dal porridge
Cook the baby's bowl from the same pot as the family's; only the salt, tempering and carrot are left out. Take out the baby's portion before adding salt and tempering, not after. Start that portion thin but not watery and mash it a little thicker each day, and cool it to lukewarm before feeding. Whisk the dal while it is hot, because it sets as it cools.
Chef’s Note
The porridge is ready when it drops off the whisk in a ribbon and no whole grain is left. Take out the baby's portion before the salt goes in, start it thin but not watery and thicken it over the days, and let it cool to lukewarm before feeding. One small bowl comes to about 131 kcal with 6.1 g of protein, 5.8 g of fat and 2.6 g of fibre.
Per serving (approx.): 131 kcal, protein 6.1 g, carbs 13 g, fat 5.8 g, fibre 2.6 g. Computed from IFCT 2017 / USDA values for the listed quantities. Measures: 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.
Happy Cooking
!!
ByCOWBERRY
Aug 23, 2026
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