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Fat-Free Dal Tadka

July 25, 2013 By Susan Voisin 77 Comments

Creamy red and yellow lentils are delicately seasoned and topped with browned onions and hot chile pepper in this fat-free version of the classic Indian dish.

Easy Fat-Free Dal Tadka

Dal Tadka is the dish that made my daughter love Indian food. Years ago, E resisted every time her father and I wanted to go to our favorite Indian restaurant. She wasn’t a big fan of our usual favorites–Baingan Bhurtha, Channa Masala, Aloo Gobi–but once she tried the Dal, she was hooked. That restaurant is now one of her favorites.

The only problem with restaurant Dal Tadka is the oil (or, possibly, ghee). The word tadka or tarka means tempering whole spices, such as mustard and cumin seeds, by frying them in oil to release their flavors. That flavored oil is then poured on top of the dish, the dal (lentils), in this case.

So you can see the problem for a no-added-oil diet. In the past I’ve tried cooking the whole spices in just a touch of oil (1/8 teaspoon in this Masoor Dal) but I’ve always wanted to find a truly fat-free way to get that restaurant dal flavor.

Easy Fat-Free Dal Tadka

This time, instead of frying the spices in oil, I just cooked them along with the lentils in my Instant Pot and then added browned onions and red pepper to the top. The result isn’t as decadent as the restaurant version, but we found it just as delicious.

I served the dal over brown basmati rice along with a new version of Okra Masala, which I will post soon, as well as E’s other favorite Indian dish, vegetable samosas. Unfortunately, the samosas came from the local Indian grocery and were, I’m afraid, fried, but if you’re looking for a healthy substitute, check out my fat-free samosa wraps.

Fat-Free Dal Tadka
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4.94 from 15 votes
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Fat-Free Dal Tadka

All of the heat is in the onion topping, so if you’d like your dal spicier, add as much red pepper as you like while the lentils are cooking.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian, Vegan
Keyword dal tadka
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6
Author Susan Voisin

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup split red lentils (masoor dal)
  • 1/2 cup yellow moong dal (split mung beans) OR yellow split peas OR additional red lentils
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 large tomato chopped
  • 1/2 large onion chopped, set aside other half
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon ginger root minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt if desired
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala plus more to taste
  • 1/2 large onion sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste

Instructions

  • Put the lentils, water, and next 7 ingredients (through salt) into a pressure cooker and lock the lid. (See Notes below for regular stovetop cooking.) Cook at high pressure for 10 minutes (on the Instant Pot, select manual and change the time to 10 minutes). Allow pressure to drop naturally for 10 minutes and then do a quick-release.
  • Open lid carefully and check to make sure lentils are tender. If not, continue to cook without pressure until lentils are fully cooked. Add garam masala and stir vigorously to make the lentils creamy. It should be a medium consistency, so add a little water if it’s too thick. Keep warm.
  • While the lentils are cooking, heat a small non-stick skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until they begin to brown. Add the red pepper flakes and cook until onions are softened and touched with brown.
  • Check the seasoning of the lentils and add additional salt and garam masala to taste. Serve over rice and top each serving with the browned onions.

Notes

If cooking without a pressure cooker, bring ingredients red lentils through salt to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan, reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook until lentils are soft, stirring often and adding water if they start to get too dry. Different types of dal take different amounts of time, so allow at least 30 minutes. Proceed with the final three steps.
One serving is zero Smart Points on Weight Watchers Freestyle program.
Nutrition Facts
Fat-Free Dal Tadka
Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
Calories 129
% Daily Value*
Sodium 204mg 9%
Total Carbohydrates 22.7g 8%
Dietary Fiber 6.4g 26%
Sugars 1.7g
Protein 9g 18%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutritional info is approximate.

Tried this recipe?Post a photo and mention @susanffvk or tag #fatfreevegan!

Please pin and share!

Creamy red and yellow lentils are delicately seasoned and topped with browned onions and hot chile pepper in this fat-free vegan version of the Indian dish.

Oh, You Beautiful Dal!

I took inspiration for my dal tadka from these recipes:

  • how to make restaurant style dal tadka by Veg Recipes of India
  • Dal Tadka by Tarla Dalal
  • Dal Tadka: Seasoned Indian Style Lentil Soup by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
  • Yellow Lentils with Onion and Garlic from India’s Vegetarian Cooking by Monisha Bharadwaj

Enjoy!

Susan

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy something through them, I receive a commission that helps support this site. Thanks for your purchase!

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Pressure Cooker, Recipes, Zero Smart Points Tagged With: Eat-to-Live, Gluten-free, Indian, Pressure Cooker, Soy-free, Under 200, Weight Watchers Points

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joe Rickerson

    February 28, 2016 at 4:43 pm

    Thanks for the recipe. I recently started making dals and I love your short cut of just tossing virtually everything in the pot. I doubled up on this recipe and it turned out perfectly. Btw, I used an Oshwawa pot inside the pressure cooker since when I’ve cooked lentils previously in the pressure cooker the foam would spew out of the cooker leaving a mess. My wife would be wiping up places my male eyes could not detect. Cooking this way increased the cooking time to 75 minutes.

    Reply
  2. daniel

    March 10, 2016 at 4:30 am

    wow!amazing post.thanks for the post

    Reply
  3. Solidworks

    July 9, 2016 at 10:52 pm

    I tried this one Oh so Good ! Ty

    Reply
  4. Teri of NC

    November 27, 2016 at 7:09 pm

    Thank you for the recipe! It was simple and quick in the Instant Pot! And so healthy, too!

    Reply
  5. Taya

    December 3, 2016 at 3:54 pm

    I made this and it was incredibly good. Thank you.

    Reply
  6. MD Kawsar

    February 12, 2017 at 2:06 am

    Fantastic food. I wanna eat it

    Reply
  7. rakhiIndia.in

    July 5, 2017 at 2:57 am

    thank you so much for Fat-Free Dal Tadka recipe giving such amazing and luscious recipies… I appriciate your write up.

    Reply
  8. Nicola

    July 27, 2017 at 6:14 pm

    Just made and it came out delicious! So easy. Directions were great!! First time I’m trying one of your recipes and can’t wait to try more.

    Reply
    • Susan Voisin

      July 27, 2017 at 6:20 pm

      Thanks! I’m so happy you liked it!

      Reply
      • Nicola

        June 15, 2018 at 4:42 pm

        This is constantly in my rotation as it is so delicious!!

        Reply
  9. Clayton

    August 4, 2017 at 11:51 pm

    Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely try it.

    Reply
  10. Karle

    September 20, 2017 at 3:27 pm

    Rosalind and I recently returned from a trip to Sequim, Washington, we stayed over in Milwaukee, OR, and stopped at Bob’s Red Mill retail store. (We also took the very interesting tour of their packing plant.) I bought a 1-1/2 bag of Chana Dal, which as you know, are Split Desi Chickpeas. This recipe gives me the perfect opportunity to use the Dal. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
  11. Melanie

    October 17, 2017 at 6:06 am

    Made this on Sunday and added mushrooms and peppers (that needed eating) to the onions. It was sooo good.

    Reply
  12. Amelie

    October 26, 2017 at 7:02 am

    Hi there,

    How many cups per one serving?

    Reply
    • Susan Voisin

      October 26, 2017 at 9:02 am

      It will vary but a serving size is around 3/4 cup.

      Reply
  13. Shahena Begum

    January 17, 2018 at 12:43 pm

    Fat free somosa maybe not but u could brush a little bit of oil on somosa and bake in the oven that work well .not fat free but certainly cuts down on fat consumption

    Reply
  14. Lee

    July 7, 2018 at 5:45 am

    I am not a vegan, I found this recipe when searching for low calorie and lentils.
    I LOVE THIS and will definitely make it again. So easy in the pressure cooker and very tasty. Perfect for a cold Australian winter night.
    I’m inspired to try the other recipes from your website. This recipe is a definite winner.

    Reply
  15. Lauren C

    August 8, 2018 at 8:54 am

    I made this last night but skipped the last step of onions on top just out of laziness. I also used a can of coconut milk and then water for the remaining cups of liquid. I’m not sure if this made it totally inauthentic but it was delicious! The house smelled amazing and my boyfriend loved it. It was so incredibly easy (and I did it stovetop). This will become a staple for us!

    Reply
  16. Jen

    October 8, 2018 at 10:17 pm

    I made this recipe tonight and we loved it! I didn’t make the onion topping out of time constraints and I added spinach after it was done cooking in the IP. My toddler at first looked at it and said, “I don’t want that.” I told her she had to try it, and so she did. She replied, “I like it!!!” and ate 2 bowls over brown rice. Thanks Susan!

    Reply
  17. Donna McFarland

    February 8, 2019 at 4:07 am

    thank you for replying to the serving amount Susan! Thank you thank you thank you for doing these for those of us who’re trying to do WW. I was simply elated to read that YOU…have done it successfully. WOW!!! It gave me renewed hope…i was a colossal failure with Freestyle when it came out. They gave no indication, that the foods were to be measured…i went crazy…and gained a bunch. It’s been a long long time now…perhaps one day soon, i’ll give it another try. Measuring. tracking…no matter how “free” a food is, it STILL -MUST BE DONE eh? Thank you Susan…surely appreciate you!!

    Reply
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Susan VoisinI'm Susan Voisin, and I love creating delicious whole foods plant-based dishes with no added oil. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
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