Masoor dal Chutney is a very aromatic chutney made with pink lentils, garlic, and spices. It is a great accompaniment with idli and dosa.
It was a lot of fun exploring some very new lentils for this week's BM theme. Masoor dal is nothing new to me as it is one of my very favorite lentils. I make Masoor dal tadka, and Instant pot Masala Khichdi using masoor dal and also use it as one of the lentils in adai, but have never thought of making chutney with it until now.
After having made two subzis in the series I was looking for something different and this was the perfect choice.
I would say the flavor of this orange lentil chutney resembled Paruppu thogayal to some extent but adding the coriander seeds and cumin seeds added an additional layer of flavor. Being a garlic lover, I did not omit the garlic in the recipe, but this could be made without the garlic.
We ate it for dinner as a side for rava idli. I had a little bit of leftover that I ate along with thayir saadham (yogurt rice) the next day and it was delicious. The orange lentil chutney was very quick to make and definitely a good alternative to the routine coconut chutney.
Preparation time - 5 minutes
Cooking time - 10 minutes
Difficulty level - easy
Ingredients to make Masoor Dal Chutney - serves 4 to 6
- Masoor dal / Pink lentil - ½ cup
- Coriander seeds - ½ tsp
- Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
- Red chilies - 4 or 5 (adjust based on your spice level)
- Garlic - 2 cloves (optional)
- Tamarind - a tiny piece
- Jaggery or sugar - ½ tsp
- Salt - to taste
- oil - 1 tsp
For seasoning -
- Oil - 1 tsp
- Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
- Urad dal - ½ tsp
- Curry leaves - few
- Asafetida - ¼ tsp
Procedure to make Masoor Dal Chutney
- Dry roast the lentils until they are aromatic and start changing color. Masoor dal roasts really quickly and so keep the flame low and keep stirring all the time.
- Transfer the roasted lentils on a plate and in the same pan, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chilies and garlic and fry them until they are aromatic. At the end add the tamarind piece and jaggery.
- Let everything cool down and then grind the fried ingredients along with the masoor dal and salt. Add water as needed to grind.
- In a small pan, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter.
- Now add the urad dal, curry leaves and asafetida.
- Add this to the chutney and mix well. Serve with idli or dosa.
Do check out the other chutney recipes that I have in the blog -
Onion, tomato and cilantro chutney
Hmarcha Rwat - Roasted Green chili chutney
one more Peanut version - version 3
Recipe
Masoor Dal Chutney | Orange lentil chutney
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- ½ cup Masoor dal / Pink lentil / orange lentil
- ½ teaspoon Coriander seeds
- ½ tsp Cumin seeds
- 5 Red chilies adjust based on your spice level
- 2 cloves Garlic optional
- a tiny piece Tamarind
- ½ teaspoon Jaggery or sugar
- to taste Salt
- 1 teaspoon oil
For seasoning -
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Urad dal
- few Curry leaves
- ¼ teaspoon Asafetida
Instructions
- Dry roast the lentils until they are aromatic and start changing color. Masoor dal roasts really quickly and so keep the flame low and keep stirring all the time.
- Transfer the roasted lentils on a plate and in the same pan, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chilies and garlic and fry them until they are aromatic. At the end add the tamarind piece and jaggery.
- Let everything cool down and then grind the fried ingredients along with the masoor dal and salt. Add water as needed to grind.
- In a small pan, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter.
- Now add the urad dal, curry leaves and asafetida.
- Add this to the chutney and mix well. Serve with idli or dosa.
ruchi indu says
very interesting recipe with masoor dal. The whole plate is inviting.. Nice morning breakfast.
Priya Srinivasan says
i m literally drooling, the color of the chutney and the whole platter makes me salivate more! Love chutney varieties, more the merrier in our case!!! Bookmarking this to try soon!
Mayuri Patel says
That's an interesting chutney Sandhiya. Love the colour and love your crockery too.
Ritu Tangri says
That's really something new to me. Going to make it today in breakfast
Sandhiya says
Never heard about this chutney before, totally new to me. And it's good way to include lentil in chutneys.Bookmarked to try!!
Veena Krishnakumar says
This is so interesting sandhya and so new to me. Lovely!!
Usha says
Masoor dal chutney has a lovely color and an interesting chutney.
Sharmila - The Happie Friends Potpourri Corner says
Awesome .. Super tempting clicks and with idli it looks great!!
Harini says
Good one with masoor dal, Sandhya.
Priya Suresh says
Lovely twist to our usual toor dal chutney, cant wait to give a try to this chutney.
Vaishali says
Masoor daal Chutney looks pretty with that beautiful orange color , the chutney sounds very unique and flavourful .
Srivalli Jetti says
This is so interesting Sandhya, using masoor dal..and the whole plate looks so inviting..
Pavani says
That's a very interesting chutney with masoor dal Sandhya. Sounds perfect with rice or idli or dosa.