Experience the warmth and heartiness of yellow split pea dal, blended with a flavourful tomato and onion sauce made from scratch and seasoned with a perfect blend of spices.
As a person on a plant-based diet, I can confidently say that curries of any kind are a staple in my cooking rotation.
They offer a wide range of veggies, are generally easy and quick to prepare, and store well. This makes them ideal for batch cooking, which is a great option for weeknight meals.
This hearty yellow split pea dal recipe has inspired many other curry dishes, such as my warming lentil and chickpea curry.
Ingredients Highlight
The complete list of ingredients with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.
Dried yellow split peas, referred to as dal, dahl, or dhal (a Hindi word for pulses) are readily available in the dry food section among legumes and pulses. They are simple to cook with and highly filling due to their high starch content.
The Spice Mixture and Sauce
The sauce that enhances the flavour of the dal consists mainly of fresh finely diced tomatoes and onions, seasoned with ginger, garlic, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek seeds, and a popular Indian blend of spice called garam masala.
To keep it on the healthier low-fat side, this yellow dal can be made without the use of any oil, which I outline in the below recipe card.
Leafy greens are always a good idea to add to a curry, try chopped kale or spinach. Stir them through the dal in the last five minutes of cooking.
Janelle's Tips
I have found that well-cooked dal (even this delicious barley curry porridge) generally doesn't need to be macerated as it is broken down enough, however, you can use a masher to do this or try a longer cooking time.
Storage
This dal recipe is perfect as leftovers, I find the flavour to be better infused the next day. Store in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months once it has cooled to room temperature.
Serving Suggestions
Serve topped with freshly chopped fresh coriander (cilantro), sliced chilli and enjoy with a side of white rice or brown rice, steamed potato (this is my favourite way to eat this dish) or naan bread, and fresh salad.
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Recipe
Yellow Split Pea Dal
Ingredients
Yellow Split Peas Dal
- 2 cups Yellow split pea rinsed and drained
- 6 cups Cold water 5 cups for cooking dal, one as a spare to adjust consistency
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt adjusted to taste
- ½ teaspoon Garam masala
- 1 handful Fresh coriander hard stalks discarded and roughly chopped
Tomato and Onion Sauce
- 1 medium Brown onion finely diced
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ¾ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
- 2-3 medium Tomatoes chopped small
- 2½ centimeters piece Fresh ginger finely chopped
- 4-5 cloves Garlic crushed
- 4-8 tablespoons Water use the amount needed for sweating onions if not using oil, otherwise use 1-2 tbs of oil
- 1 handful Coriander Cilantro. Roughly chopped.
- 1 small Red chilli chopped - optional
Instructions
Cooking Yellow Split Peas
- Add the yellow split peas, cold water and salt in a large pot and bring to a boil on high heat. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes without the lid. You will need to skim off the froth a couple of times. Around the 40 minutes mark, stir in turmeric powder, garam masala and half of the chopped coriander (cilantro).
Making the Sauce
- In a frying pan over medium-high heat, add optional 1-2 tablespoons olive oil (leave this out if not using oil), and cumin and fenugreek seeds. Heat up until the smoky aroma is released, by stirring. This will create the best flavour. If you are using oil, add the diced onion and sweat until they are translucent. If you’re not using oil, add 4 tablespoons of water with onion and sweat until they are translucent and start to change color.Stir in the garlic, ginger and optional chilli, then add the diced tomatoes and cook them down for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat. You may need to add a splash of water to loosen the sauce.
Creating the Dal Curry
- Once the dal is completely cooked, it should be goopy, add the tomato and onion mixture to the yellow split peas dal and stir through thoroughly. Taste to see if you'd like to adjust the salt. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
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Rebecca
I haven't tasted it yet because it's been on the stove for 4+ hours now - was I supposed to soak the lentils ahead of time? I didn't see that in the recipe. They are still quite hard. All my other ingredients are prepped and the cilantro is now wilted. I'm just glad I didn't have guests coming over. :/
Janelle Hama
My thought is you've possibly used the wrong legume, as split peas cook so easily.
Rebecca
Update and correction: I definitely used yellow split peas, not lentils, but they had been on the shelf for too long. Apparently old split peas will not soften, even after many hours on the stovetop. Lesson learned.
Janelle Hama
Oh no! that's not fun! Thanks for sharing the info though.
Alison Bussell
All the recipes look delish - they make me so I want to make them immediately and ask my friends to come eat with me. Thank you!
Janelle Hama
Oh I love this, what an amazing compliment, I can tell you're a sharer and I am sure your friends would love to eat with you!
Tina
Wow! This came together so well, with so much depth of flavor. I added smoked chiles with the fenugreek & cumin seeds, and some chopped kale in the last five minutes of simmering. Topped with a bit of ghee.
Janelle Hama
That sounds incredible! Love the addition of smoked chiles and kale, such a great addition. So glad you enjoyed it! 😊
Annie Anderson
Good morning, can you substitute yellow split peas with green split peas? It sounds delicious.
Janelle Hama
I don’t see why not! 🙂
Eve
My family loved this!
My teen son asked me to add it to "the rotation".
Very high praise!
When I found this recipe I wasn't sure I had enough time to wait for it to finish but I looked for another recipe using an instant pot and nothing looked as good.
In the end, this recipe was a helpful pacer. I continued making additional food until the dal was ready, so we had a feast (with lots of leftovers)!
Our menu tonight:
-This Dal
-Trader Joes Flatbread
-Cucumber Raita from "A Higher Taste", the Krisna cookbook
-Ground turkey tikka masala (cooking the meat then adding a premade jar of sauce)
-Cauliflower/potato curry made in the instant pot
ONE QUESION: Are the ingredients supposed to be re-printed above the onion/tomato photo? I was trying to do this recipe from my phone, but I had to go look on my computer to try to figure out why the ingredients were listed there.
Janelle Hama
Hi Eve, it warms my heart to know that your family loves this recipe. And your menu sounds delicious!
The recipe card places the related ingredients in grey under the correlating steps to help with keeping track. I hope this helps.
Happy eating! 🙂
Mike
So good. Used canned tomatoes and garlic/ginger paste, but came out delicious!
Janelle Hama
I'm thrilled you loved it Mike!
J
Emily
I would recommend using fresh curry leaves - fry them before adding the peas and liquid for ultimate flavor and aroma - <3 thanks for the recipe, i will make now
Janelle Hama
That is a wonderful tip!
Dr. J
I hope you won't mind a second comment. I've made this dal a few times and it's our very favorite. This morning I was running short on time and decided to just throw everything in the slow cooker rather than prepare it as directed. (I know -- cringe!) I cooked it on low for eight hours and it came out fabulous. My wife loved it and said she couldn't tell the difference.
Janelle Hama
No cringe at all! I love the chop and dump technique, saves so much time! You've inspired me to try it too!
Dr. J
Absolutely fantastic! Delicious and satisfying, and the detailed instructions were so helpful. I soaked the split peas for about eight hours, then followed the recipe (no-oil directions) exactly. The dal came out perfect. This one is a keeper.
Janelle Hama
Thank you for making my recipe, I am always thrilled to make people happy with a WFPB no oil recipe. So glad you enjoyed it!!
Loly
Absolutely love this recipe, so much flavour and a great snack or dinner!
Janelle Hama
Thank you so much for making this dal! I'm delighted that you enjoyed it. Happy cooking! 🥰🍽️
Vania
I’ve made this recipe many times but am I crazy or did it change? The tomatoes used to be added to the split peas not the spice mixture. There were also more spices like curry leaves and I believe curry powder. I also don’t remember sautéing the onions in with he spices. Is there any way to get the original recipe? Apologies if I’m confused. Thank you
Janelle Hama
Hi Vania,
So sorry for the confusion. Yes there was an update, hopefully the following can assist;
- 2 bay leaves and 1 tablespoon of curry powder can be added to cooking the yellow split peas stage
Previously, the sauce was made (onion and tomato) and then the dal was cooked on top.
Hope this helps.
J
Martha S.
I made this tonight and it was a perfect meal for a cold, rainy winter night. Bookmarking it for later!
Janelle Hama
So glad you enjoy this soup. I can never get enough of it.
Anna
Hi, I book marked this recipe as absolutley loved it! I thought it had cardamom in it?! or as an option? maybe I'm mistaken but we'll see how it tastes very soon! thanks for your lovely recipes!