Bengali Masoor Dal Recipe | Bangali Musuri’r Dal

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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:

1. First cook the lentils until very tender and almost mushy.
2. 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.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and a pinch of turmeric; cover and cook until tomatoes are mushy, about 4-5 minutes.
4. 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.
5. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice.

Print Recipe

5 from 15 votes

Bengali Red Masoor Dal (Bangali Musuri’r Dal)

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.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: bengali

Servings: 4 serving

Author: Pavani

Ingredients

• ½ 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

How to cook red lentils/ masoor dal:

• 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!!

• Moroccan Red Lentil Soup
• Nepali Dal Bhat
• Ethiopian Lentil Stew

Linking to this month’s BM# 110 and don’t forget to check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up today.