on Mar 31, 2020, Updated Sep 11, 2023 For anyone who thinks dal is boring, I’m going to change your mind today. Just before I started writing this post, I posted a picture of the Dal on Instagram (are we friends yet?) and oh man! I was expecting a lot of meh’s but all I got were yay’s for this Dhaba Style Dal Fry. So now I’m thinking there are other people who might actually like dal. Hallelujah. Dal or Dhal or Indian Lentil Soup as some like to call it is the kind of thing you take so much for granted. In fact growing up I hated dal, mainly because of my dad. No he didn’t force feed us dal, but he only eats yellow dal – arhar or toor and so we didn’t have too much of an option. Faced with yellow dal day after day, you can imagine our plight – and we still give him a hard time for that. But I guess once you start staying away from home, those very things end up becoming favorites. Everything except yellow dal. Am I confusing you, considering this post is about yellow dal? So here’s the thing, I don’t like the regular pressure cooker with turmeric and salt only yellow dal. I want mine to have bold flavors, some tadka (tempering), some masala and only then I’m satisfied. Like this one. My dhaba visits are always a battle. Between deciding whether to order dal fry, dal tadka or dal makhani. Dal fry wins about 40% times. Because dhaba style dal fry is smoky and spicy and indulgent and perfect with crisp tandoori rotis. All you need is some sliced onions on the side and a squirt of lime juice. And you are set.

Secret to fantastic Dal Fry

The secret to this OMG dhaba dal fry is butter and tons of garlic. Trust me, those two just turn regular dal into awesome dal. I like pressure cooking the dal separately and then adding the dal to a tempering.

Use the right dal for Dal Fry

Arhar/Toor/Pigeon Peas is the best dal to use for dal fry. It has a mild taste, cooks fairly quickly, and breaks down so that the dal has a mushy consistency which is just right for dal fry. The steps to making this recipe are pretty simple and totally doable on a weekday. So no extra prep needed, no last minute grocery trips because as long as you have the basic pantry staples, you should be good to go. Plus it really doesn’t take too much time, and you will have finger licking goodness on the table in under half an hour. Dal Fry is usually a thick dal, unlike dal tadka but you are the boss of your dal so feel free to change things up slightly and just use this recipe as a guide.

Serve it with:

Soft RotisNaanJeera RiceVeg Pulao

I changed this recipe when I updated it on March 31, 2020. But a lot of you asked for the older recipe which has been added in the notes section of the Recipe. Just scroll down to the notes section in the recipe box and you should be able to see it.

Watch how to make Dhaba Style Dal Fry Recipe Video

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