This straightforward, five-ingredient Bengali dal made with masoor dal or purple lentils is a weeknight winner. The panch phoron spice combine, a key ingredient in Bengali delicacies, infuses the dal with distinctive taste. Serve it over steamed rice for a scrumptious Indian meal.

When you love easy Indian dals like yellow lentil dal and moong dal, this Bengali dal with panch phoron will win you over.
Panch phoron is a Bengali spice combine made with 5 seed spices–fennel seeds, cumin seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds. Collectively, on this dal and in different Bengali dishes they’re added to, they create a vivid symphony of flavors you’ll fall in love with.
Apart from the panch phoron and the lentils, all you’ll want to make this simple Bengali masoor dal recipe are onions and inexperienced chilies. It could not be easier, and it additionally could not be any extra scrumptious. So strive it!
Desk of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy however flavorful. A fancy and beautiful vegan dal makhani is gorgeous when you might have the time to make it. However if you’d like tasty lentils and haven’t got time to spare, you’ll be able to’t go fallacious with this Bengali dal. It is a recipe for hurried evenings or weekends while you need to do one thing greater than spend time within the kitchen.
- Nourishing. Lentils are nice for you, after all, and so are seed spices. They increase digestive and respiratory well being they usually might help struggle most cancers and coronary heart illness.
- Simple to make. This recipe wants only a few elements for tempering and little or no prep work!
- Nut-free, soy-free, gluten-free and vegan. Like most Indian dal recipes, this Bengali dal is suited to all diets.
Elements
See ingredient card under for precise portions of elements.
- Purple lentils (additionally referred to as pink lentils or masoor dal/mosur dal). Purple lentils have a nutty, mellow sweetness that works properly with the spices and onions.
- Turmeric powder
- Oil. Use any impartial oil. Bengalis use mustard oil, which has a pointy, spicy taste, in a great deal of their cooking. It’s fantastic on this dal. Right here in america mustard oil just isn’t simple to search out due to FDA restrictions and though it’s offered in Indian shops it’s labeled as a therapeutic massage oil. If you’ll find mustard oil, use it on this recipe for genuine taste. At all times smoke the mustard oil gently earlier than including different elements to it.
- Panch phoron. Panch phoron or panch phoran is a straightforward combine of 5 seed spices that takes underneath 5 minutes to place collectively. This is my recipe for a basic panch phoron.
- Onions
- Inexperienced chili peppers. Use jalapeno peppers, serrano peppers or the slim inexperienced chili peppers accessible at worldwide shops and Indian groceries.
Variations
- Add a teaspoon of grated ginger together with the onions.
- Add two chopped tomatoes with the onions for a slight tang to the nutty dal.

Knowledgeable tip
Indian dals, with a number of exceptions, are supposed to be clean and creamy with a barely runny consistency. At all times whisk your lentils after they’re cooked, to make sure they’re creamy and never distinct while you serve them.
Serving strategies
- Serve the Bengali dal over basmati rice with a vegetable facet dish like Aloo Posto or Bombay Potatoes.
- Serve with freshly made roti, with a vegetable facet.
Storage directions
- Refrigerate: Retailer the dal within the fridge in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days.
- Freeze: Most dals freeze fairly nicely. Retailer this Bengali fashion dal in a freezer-safe container for as much as 4 months.
- Reheat: Thaw and reheat the dal within the microwave or on the stovetop. If wanted add extra water and add salt as wanted.
Extra recipes with purple lentils

When you love this Bengali Dal with Panch Phoron, you should definitely take a look at extra vegan Indian recipes on Holy Cow Vegan!

Bengali Dal with Panch Phoron
This straightforward Bengali dal made with masoor dal or purple lentils is a weeknight winner. The panch phoron spice combine, a key ingredient in Bengali delicacies, infuses the dal with distinctive taste. Serve it over steamed rice for a scrumptious Indian meal.
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Servings: 6 servings
Energy: 136kcal
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Directions
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Prepare dinner dal in stress cooker or on stovetop till tender. In an Instantaneous Pot you’ll need to prepare dinner the dal with three cups water on excessive stress for 10 minutes, and in an Indian stress cooker you’ll need to prepare dinner it for 3 whistles. If cooking in a saucepan, add water to cowl the lentils by two inches, then deliver to a boil. Decrease warmth to simmer, cowl the pot and prepare dinner lentils till they’re very tender. As soon as the lentils are cooked, whisk them.
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Warmth oil in a sauce pan or Dutch oven over medium excessive warmth. Add the panch phoron and anticipate the mustard seeds to sputter.
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Add the onions and inexperienced chili peppers to the pot together with ½ teaspoon salt. Saute till the onions are delicate and starting to caramelize, about 5 minutes.
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Add the cooked dal to the pot with a cup of the inventory/cooking liquid or water. Combine nicely, add salt to style, and convey the dal to a boil. Cowl and simmer for 5 minutes.
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Garnish with chopped recent cilantro. Serve sizzling.
Recipe notes
- Saute a teaspoon of grated ginger together with the onions.
- Add two chopped tomatoes with the onions for a slight tang to the nutty dal.
Storage directions
- Refrigerate: Retailer the dal within the fridge in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days.
- Freeze: Most dals freeze fairly nicely. Retailer this Bengali dal in a freezer-safe container for as much as 4 months.
- Reheat: Thaw and reheat the dal within the microwave or on the stovetop. If wanted add extra water and add salt as wanted.
Diet
Energy: 136kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 8g | Fats: 3g | Saturated Fats: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fats: 2g | Potassium: 330mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 71IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 2mg