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5 from 20 votes

Dhaba style Butter Dal Vegan no Onion No Garlic

The best recipe for Dhaba-Style Butter Dal made with red lentils and a restaurant-style tempering! Super rich but there is no cream in this. Try it! Gluten-free Nutfree Soyfree allium free
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: butter daal, dhaba dal
Servings: 4
Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

For the dal:

  • 3/4 cup split red lentils (masoor dal) , see notes for other lentils
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 inch ginger julienned or finely chopped
  • 1 hot green chili such as serano or indian chili finely chopped or Use mild chili if you wish
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 medium tomato, chopped small

For the tempering or tadka:

  • 1 tablespoon vegan butter or oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 dried red chilis use hot Indian or Thai, or for mild use California red or Kashmiri
  • 6 black pepper corns
  • 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek leaves
  • 2 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder or use paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or indian chili powder optional
  • 1 large tomato cubed into 1 inch slices
  • cilantro and lemon juice for garnish
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Cook the dal: add all of the ingredients under dal in a saucepan and mix well.
  • Bring to a boil over medium heat. Then partially cover after bringing to a boil then cook until the dal is tender to preference, 13-15 minutes. See recipe notes if using other lentils
  • Make the tempering: add butter to a skillet over medium heat.  Once the butter is melted and hot, add the cumin seeds and cook for a minute until the seeds change color and get very fragrant.
  • Then add in the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon stick, dried chilis, pepper corns and fenugreek leaves. Mix well and cook until the chilies change color. About Half a minute
  • Add in the kashmiri chili powder or paprika, ground coriander and cayenne if using then mix well and then immediately add in the chopped tomato and the cooked dal(lentils along with the water).
  • Mix well. Taste and adjust salt and flavor and once the dal comes to a boil, switch off the heat.
  • Garnish with cilantro and lemon or lime juice and serve over rice or with flatbread.

Notes

For variation:  use other lentils such as moong dal, toor dal or urad dal. Moong dal will take about 20 mins to cook and toor will take 30 mins on stove top.
Instant pot pressure cooking times: Masoor dal -3 mins, Moong Dal or Urad dal - 6 mins, toor dal -10 mins . Quick release after 5 mins 

Nutrition

Calories: 184kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 325mg | Potassium: 623mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1155IU | Vitamin C: 59mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 4mg