Buttery Moong Dal With Garlic and Cumin

This recipe is not in any way authentic. The result is egregiously soupy - even when cooked with only 4 cups liquid; and grossly underseasoned. Try 3-3.5 cups of water, and check other recipes for ways to approach a plausible tarka dal. (BTW - I've spent three years on the sub-continent, and eaten a whole lot of dal in various forms.)

I made a NYT account just for the purposes of reviewing this recipe. I have no earthly idea how the average rating of 31 people would be end up as five stars. There is FAR too much water and no where near enough seasoning. I wouldn't serve this to someone I hated.

i never measure the water - start with enough water to cover the dal by an inch. you do need to stay near the pot as it does boil over easily - as the dal absorbs the water, just keep adding more, 1/2 cup at a time, to maintain the consistency you want. a cup of lentils will take about an hour to soften to the right consistency - no need to use the blender.

I wish I would have read others' comments before I made this because, indeed, the consistency is way too soupy to be eaten over rice. Rather than using a more traditional recipe, I opted for this one in a pinch. Never again.

I cook moong dal often and commenters are correct; far too much water. Also use cumin seeds, not powder. You may wish to try it Bengali-style; dry roast the lentils until golden before adding water. You will need a somewhat longer cooking time. Use bay leaf rather than curry leaves.

This is a seriously disappointing recipe Mr.Tifton! Please allow me to teach you a very basic moong daal recipe. Dry roast daal till it smells toasty, pressure cook with salt, sugar and turmeric powder. Once daal is cooked, heat ghee/ clarified butter, temper it with cumin seeds, 1 bay leaf and 1 or 2 dry red chilies. Add cooked daal to it, bring it to a boil and check seasoning. It should have a very balanced taste and should be as thick as a bisque or cream of mushroom soup.

Too watery to my liking. Reduced to 5.5 cups and will likely reduce water half to one whole cup further next time. Added a few curry leaves which further improved to a perhaps more Southern Indian taste. May try adding some diced & seeded fresh tomatoes next time. Otherwise fantastic and super simple.

I used about 4.5 cups of H2O, used 6 cloves of garlic, and added black mustard seeds, a half cinnamon stick, whole cumin, and red chili powder to the tarka. It was delicious.

This is a very nice soup for cold weather. Once you add the uncooked rice it would not be so watery as some have noted.

This is a bad recipe it's very bland and you need more dal and spices. Too soup like instead of buttery dal. Don't be fooled.

Was this a joke? Soooo watery! Didn't read comments before cooking, regret it. But let the water cook off and the dal soak in the liquid to absorb. The taste is OK, but I'd change this, reduce water substantially next time. Needs work!!!

Reduce water by half and double/triple the other ingredients. Make fresh garam masala to dress, scoop up with naan. I'm so hooked on this thing I've never heard of before 6 months ago. Make it hot and spicey!!

Doubled ALL ingredients except the water. Used one jalapeño pepper without the seeds, and whole cumin seeds. Cooked it down until the texture was right for soup. No whisking or blending necessary. Excellent.

7 cups water is way too much. My Indian mother in law taught me to use 4 cups water for 1 cup dal. If it’s too watery, boil it down until desired consistency. Lentils need lots of salt for flavor. Start with 1 tsp and add more as needed. Use whole cumin seeds for the tarka. Hope this helps.