This Bengali Masoor dal is a simple, everyday lentil dish that is comforting and hearty. Panch phoron, a Bengali five spice mix adds lots of flavor to this dal.
Today I have a comforting and delicious Bengali dal. It is a simple preparation made with masoor dal and tomato. Panch phoron, a 5 spice mix adds lot of flavor to this every day lentil dish. Serve it over a bowl of hot steamed rice for a delicious meal.
What is Panch Phoron?
It literally means ‘five spices’ in Bengali. So it is basically a mixture of 5 whole spices:
- Fenugreek
- Mustard
- Fennel
- Nigella and
- Cumin seeds
The spice mix can be bought at Indian groceries. But you can easily make it at home by mixing equal quantities of all of the above spices. This is great to have on hand to make delicious Bengali style dishes like this Charchari (mixed vegetable curry) or this Begun-er-tok (sweet and sour eggplant).
How to cook red lentils/ masoor dal:
Red lentils are one of the easiest lentils to cook. They take less than 20 minutes to cook on the stove top and about 5 minutes in an Instant pot or pressure cooker. Here’s how to cook them:
- Instant Pot/ Pressure cooker: For ½ cup red lentils, add 1¼ cups water. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes in IP and for 3~4 whistles in a regular pressure cooker.
- Stove-top method: Combine ½ cup red lentils with 1¾ cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer until lentils are tender and start turning mushy, about 15~20 minutes.
Masoor Dal recipe Bengali style:
So here’s how to make this delicious Bengali masoor dal:
- First cook the lentils until very tender and almost mushy.
- Heat oil in a sauce pan, add panch phoron; once the seeds to splutter, add onions and green chilies. Saute until onions are lightly browned and translucent.
- Add chopped tomatoes and a pinch of turmeric; cover and cook until tomatoes are mushy, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the cooked dal along with 2-3 cups of water and salt. Bring to a boil on medium high flame, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and mix well.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice.
Bengali Red Masoor Dal (Bangali Musuri’r Dal)
Ingredients
- ½¾ cup Red Lentils (Masoor Dal)
- 2 tsp Oil
- 1 tsp Panch phoron
- 1 Small Red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 Green chilies, slit vertically
- 2 Medium Tomatoes, chopped
- To taste Salt
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice (or more to taste)
- 2 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Cook red lentils until tender. Pressure cooker/ Instant pot can be used to expedite this process.*
- Heat oil in a sauce pan, add panch phoron; once the seeds to splutter, add onions and green chilies. Saute until onions are lightly browned and translucent.
- Add chopped tomatoes and a pinch of turmeric; cover and cook until tomatoes are mushy, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the cooked dal along with 2-3 cups of water and salt. Bring to a boil on medium high flame, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and mix well.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice
Notes
- Instant Pot/ Pressure cooker: For ½ cup red lentils, add 1¼ cups water. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes in IP and for 3~4 whistles in a regular pressure cooker.
- Stove-top method: Combine ½ cup red lentils with 1¾ cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer until lentils are tender and start turning mushy, about 15~20 minutes.
Here are a few more Red Lentil recipes that you might enjoy!!
Linking to this month’s BM# 110 and don’t forget to check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up today.
aipi
Absolutely love this dal dear ~ I am a panch phoran fanatic :)US Masala
Harini
I prepare this dal but never added panch poran!! should try it with that masala.
Hari Chandana
Woww.. looks amazing and perfect.. thanks for the lovely recipe :)Indian Cuisine
Usha Rao
What a comfort food! Mouthwatering..
Vardhini
Looks delicious. Need to get some of the panch poran .. VardhiniVardhinisKitchen
sweethome
Yummy comfort food and healthy too.Awaiting for more Bengali recipes South Indian Home
Prathibha
Lovely dal…full protein packed..:)
Prathibha
Lovely dal…full protein packed..:)
Priya Suresh
Dal looks absolutely inviting and marvellous..
Suma Gandlur
Simple and comforting!
veena krishnakumar
colourful and protein packed!!!!!!!!
Now Serving
simple-y delicious dal – a comfort food in our home 🙂
Kalyani
love the texture and colour dear !
PJ
Looks so inviting. Wish I had panchporan to try this out…
Srivalli
I love masoor dal..simple comfort dishes!
Sagor sarkar
This posts are very beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Vaishali Sabnani
It’s a simple dal , but this bowl of dal is full of protein and awesome flavors . Panch phoran is a flavour to die for and we love it in our dals and curries .