Phiki dal is one of the easiest recipes I learned after being away from home and one of the tastiest! This lentil soup with subtle, mild spices is one of the most satisfying and comforting dishes that goes well with rice or roti and can be made in a jiffy!
Funny how I never tried making dal, a basic dish in every Indian household, until I moved far away from home. The first time I made this in my kitchen, thousands of miles from home, with the pressure cooker's whistle echoing, I was skeptical how it would turn out, but it came out great. Now, I often make this when I'm short on time, as it's quick, easy, and always satisfying.
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Why will you love this dal?
- It gets done very quickly and can be made in no time, especially helpful when you are in a rush but need a quick meal that is nourishing.
- Needs very few ingredients that are usually found in your pantry.
- Light on the stomach and tastes exceptional, a very satisfying meal when combined with white rice or roti.
Ingredients needed
You will need the following:
- Tuvar (Toor) dal or split pigeon peas lentils - is best for this recipe, although you can substitute with the yellow split moong dal.
- The only spice used is turmeric, which gives a nice yellow color.
- Green chilies also contribute to the spice and heat factor; use as tolerated.
- Mustard seeds and Cumin for tempering.
- Garlic chopped finely - use while tempering to give a unique flavor to this dish
- Chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves for garnish.
How is Phiki Dal made?
The main ingredients in the dish are lentils, green chilies, coriander leaves, and garlic. This is called Phiki Dal, and Phiki means "mild"; the only spice is the green chilies, and you can adjust that on how strong you want it to be.
Tempering with garlic elevates the taste of the dish. If you are looking for side dishes to go along with this, do try the bhindi alu ( okra with potatoes), easy baingan bartha, and alu gobhi sabji (cauliflower and potato with spices). Ghee rice (neyy chor) is a great combination as well. Here is the step-by-step process that goes into making this dish:
- Step 1: Wash the dal and add it to a pressure cooker. Add turmeric, salt, slit green chilies and water.
- Step 2: Pressure cook for about 3 to 4 whistles.
- Step 3: When pressure is released, open the lid and make sure the dal is well-cooked
- Step 4: Add water to adjust the consistency of the dal and curry leaves and chopped coriander leaves.
- Step 5: Heat oil and temper mustard seeds, cumin, and chopped garlic. Let the garlic brown well and mix into the cooked dal.
- Step 6: Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with white rice or roti (wheat bread)
Phiki dal best goes with rice, and usually, kids love this combination with a spoonful of ghee(clarified butter). It is also great for growing kids, and I would recommend you try this. Some other simple dals and soups that you might like are the moth dal, dal makhni, and Tomato Soup.
Related FAQs
Phiki Dal can be refrigerated for about 4 to 5 days and frozen for about 3 months.
The dal will take longer to cook when cooking on the stove top, for about 20 to 25 minutes after soaking for about 30 minutes. You can also use an Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for about 7 to 8 minutes. If using a pressure cooker, 3 to 4 whistles are good enough to cook it well.
Tuvar (toor) dal or split pigeon pea dal is best for this recipe. You can also use split yellow moong dal.
Related Recipes
If you tried this Phiki Dal Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below. I love hearing from you!
Phiki Dal - Mild Lentil Soup
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cups Toor dal
- 3 green chilies Thai
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 big garlic pods finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 cup coriander leaves finely chopped
Instructions
- Pressure cook the dal with double the amount of water, turmeric and green chilies.
- When the steam is released, open the pressure cooker.
- Add water to adjust the consistency of the dal and bring to boil.
- Add the chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves.
- Add salt to taste and switch off the flame.
- For Tempering heat vegetable oil, splutter mustard seeds.
- Add cumin and chopped garlic until it browns.
- Mix it with the cooked dal. That's all. Phiki dal is ready to be served.
- Serve with rice or Rotis!
Notes
- Make sure to brown the garlic, but do not burn it
- Chop coriander leaves very finely and also add curry leaves.
- Reduce the green chillies as per the tolerance level.
- Add water as needed to adjust the consistency of the dal.
- Tuvar dal or split pigeon pea works best for this recipe, but you can also use split yellow moong dal.
This is the utmost comfort food I make when I'm in no mood to cook elaborately. The dal looks so delicious.
Many Thanks Lathiya , indeed a very comforting and tasty dal to make in a jiffy .
What a great sounding recipe. Love all the spices in it. Can't wai to try it.
Thank you so much Larena , this uses very simple spices yet tastes so good! Hope you love it as much as we do.
I did tried similar lenthil soup in an Indian restaurant here and it taste delicious. So flavorful. One of my favorite vegan soup.
Wonderful to hear that , it is indeed very delicious .The tempering with garlic and cumin gives it a nice flavor as well. Thank you so much for the comment and great review!
I haven’t heard of this dish before but all of the ingredients sound tasty together! I love soups in the fall so it’s the perfect time to try this out. Plus, anything I can make in my Instant Pot is a win to me!
This is a very mild and healthy soup rich in protein, hope you love it as much as we do ! Thank you so much for the comment.
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Thank you so much Sneha , am honored and will definitely check it out
Sure.
Love your comforting dal!
I like your comment , comforting it is 🙂 Thanks dear
I somehow love the simple dals more than too much 'masala' ones and this looks just my type! Lovely!
Yes Mallika, me too especially when you already have a spicy sabji and all you want is a plain dal !Thank you !!
Looks so yummy. Dal is my all time favourite. But why would you call it a phiki dal
hey Pooja, this dal is really bland and very soothing so I guess it got the name from the word bland in Phiki .Actually my in-laws lived in Pune and they call it phika dal .The only spice is the green chilly and sometimes I go with just a chiily without even cutting so it's really no spice at all ..
Very simple and easy recipe...Loved it..Will try this..
Thanks dear, am sure you will love it as well
Yummy-- will love to have with roti and salad 🥗.. thank you..
Yes that would be the perfect combination!!
Yeah
Yummy! 😀
Thank you Lavs!
I will try this
Thank you Deepa! you will definitely love it !
Yummy!
Thank you! Misabella