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Two bowls of yellow dal fry. One a thin soup, and one a thick soup

Yellow Dal Fry Recipe

5 from 2 votes
This delicious Nepali style lentil soup is typically served with dal bhat (rice and lentil soup), however it also makes a great stand alone soup!
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Dinner, Entree, Main Course, Side Dish, Soup
Cuisine: Nepalese, Nepali
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dal Soup
  • 1 cup split yellow peas
  • 1 tsp mustard oil
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 2 ½ cups water (3 ½ cups if you want it to be thinner)
Dal Fry
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • 1 ½ tbsp mustard oil
  • 1 pinch hing
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker

Method
 

Dal Soup
  1. Before starting, rinse the lentils with water until the water runs clear.
  2. Add lentils to the pressure cooker along with the desired amount of water (between 2½ - 3½ cups).
  3. Add the mustard oil, salt, and turmeric before closing the lid of the pressure cooker.
  4. Once the lid is tightly secured, set it to medium heat and let it cook for 15 mins.
  5. When done, let it sit until the pressure releases. Only open the lid once all the pressure has released from the pot.
  6. If the soup is too thick for your taste, you can add hot water to it at this time.
Dal Fry
  1. While the dal is cooking, mince the garlic.
  2. Only start the dal fry once the dal has completed cooking. In a small frying pan on medium heat, add the mustard seed oil.
  3. Once the oil is hot, add a pinch of hing and the cumin seeds until you smell the cumin (about 30 seconds).
  4. Add the minced garlic and cook until browned (about 2-3mins)
  5. Pour the hot oil and garlic mixture straight into the hot dal. To get the last of the garlic out of the pan, and a scoop of dal into the pan and swish it around and then pour it back in with the dal.

Notes

If you want the soup to be thinner, you can add 3 1/2 cups of water to the pressure cooker instead of 2 1/2. You can also add more hot water to the soup before adding the dal fry if it is too thick for your taste.