Easy Indian Lentil Soup (Masoor Daal)

This easy Indian lentil soup not only serves as a classic comfort food; it’s the perfect homemade baby food the whole family can enjoy!

When I stepped into the world of India, I was absolutely amazed at the variety of lentils here! There are so many to choose from and many different ways to prepare them!

Red lentils, or split masoor daal, are perhaps one of the most (if not the most) common lentils you will find in Indian homes. It’s served on the regular as a side dish, along with many other dishes.

This easy Indian lentil soup is my own spin on Indian daal that I’ve developed over the last few years. There’s no pressure cooker involved, but it’s still easy and fast to make!

One thing that is unique about this particular recipe is that I actually put what is supposed to be a tempering in the daal from the beginning, rather than waiting for it to cook and adding it in last.

One day when I was experimenting, I added it in early. And I noticed something–for once the soup didn’t boil over! I used to have so much trouble with this, and I finally found that I don’t have to baby sit my pot anymore! My theory is that the ghee is dissipating it! You still have to make sure the pot isn’t too full of water, because it does rise up and can boil over. However, it appears that a little fat in the dish and a bit of space at the top keep it from boiling over! That’s a big win win for a busy mama!

Easy Indian Lentil Soup (Masoor Daal) Ingredients

Ghee (Clarified Butter) or Neutral Oil: You could technically use any oil you want, but ghee provides the best flavor!

Cumin Seeds: You can find these at a Mexican or Indian grocery store, on Amazon, and maybe in your regular grocery store!

Nigella Seeds: You can find these at an Indian grocery store or on Amazon! They are sometimes called “black cumin,” but be careful! There’s another seed that people also call “black cumin.” Make sure the package says “nigella” on it.

Red Lentils: These are the core of this dish! Did you know that red lentils are actually brown lentils? They’re just skinned and broken in half! Interesting, huh?!

Water: Yep, there’s no broth in this one! Just water!

Salt: The salt measurement in this recipe is for sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, which tend to be “less salty” than regular table salt. If using table salt, you may have to alter this amount a bit.

Ginger Powder

Garlic Powder

Turmeric Powder

Black Pepper

Chili or Jalapeno Pepper: In my opinion, this dish is at its best with chilis in it! However, if you’re going to feed it to a baby or someone who doesn’t like spicy food, you might want to skip them!

Cilantro: Most of the time I don’t even use cilantro in this soup anymore. But it does add nice flavor and serves as a nice garnish!

Kitchen Supplies You May Need

• skillet
• scraping spatula
• saucepan or pot
• measuring cups and spoons
• whisk
• ladle
• knife and cutting board (if using peppers or cilantro)

How to Make Easy Indian Lentil Soup

First, you will want to bloom your whole spices. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the ghee or oil. And then add your cumin and nigella seeds to your ghee/oil. Let them splutter for a few seconds (being careful not to let them burn) and then turn the heat off. Let this cool down.

Next, you will rinse your red lentils. Place the lentils in a saucepan (large) or pot and pour enough water in to cover them. Use your hand to swish and swirl the lentils around in the water for about 5-10 seconds. You will most likely see the water become foamy and discolored.

Remove your hand and let the lentils settle back down in the bottom of your pot and then carefully pour the water out into your sink, making sure not to dump the lentils out. (It’s ok to leave a little water. You don’t have to get out every last drop.)

Repeat this process until the water becomes clear (or at least mostly clear). You will probably need to do this at least 3 or 4 times.

After your lentils are clean, you will add the water, bloomed spices, and the rest of the ingredients to your pot. Use a scraping spatula to get all of the seeds out of the skillet. Also, make sure you have a couple inches of space at the top of your saucepan or pot.

Place the pot on your stove over high heat and allow the water to heat up. Once hot, stir the mixture so that the ghee/oil and spices are incorporated into the water. It should take about 10 minutes for the lentils to come to a boil. As it starts to come to a boil, watch it carefully. It should rise up a bit and then the ghee/oil should dissipate it. However, if this is not the case and it continues to rise, turn down the heat, stir the lentils, and wait for it to fall back down. Then you can turn the heat back up and let it continue to cook.

As the lentils continue cooking, you will start to see them break down and start to meld together.

After about 15 or 20 minutes from the time the lentils began to boil, you shouldn’t be able to see many individual lentils. They should mostly be broken down. At this point, take out a whisk and whisk the soup for a few seconds, making it smoother.

Now you will have to make a personal decision about the thickness of your lentil soup. Some people prefer it thin, some thick, and some super thick. I prefer it in between.

I would suggest the following:

After whisking the soup, let it cook for about five more minutes. The water level should have gone down somewhere between one third to one half, the lentils broken down and mostly smooth, and the lentils soft when you taste them. (The seeds will have a bit of a bite so don’t get confused between those and the lentils. You may need to take two or three bites to see.)

If you prefer, you can let the soup cook longer, until the water is down about halfway orand the soup pretty thick. Take note that the more you cook down the liquid, the saltier it will be.

To make it thinner, you would need to add less lentils at the beginning of this recipe.

Once you have switched off the heat, you can now add more salt and pepper if preferred and/or garnish it with cilantro.

And that’s it! Your easy Indian lentil soup is ready! Enjoy!

How to Wash Less Dishes with This Recipe

If you’re like me and you’re the dishwasher at your house, then maybe you agree that washing a bazillion dishes is not the most exciting pastime. Many years ago, I started using my dishes in a smarter way, using the same dishes over and over again, but in a strategic manner.

This recipe makes it a bit difficult to keep from washing dishes; however, you can definitely get some multitasking out of those measuring cups and spoons!

Dirty Up Only Two Measuring Utensils

• a 1 cup measuring cup
• a 1/4 teaspoon

How to Use These Measuring Utensils

• Fill the 1 cup measuring cup 3/4 full of daal.
• Fill the 1 cup measuring cup full of water seven times.

• (Use the scraping spatula to eyeball 1-2 teaspoons of ghee/oil.)
• Two 1/4 teaspoons of cumin seeds
• (Use your fingers to grab a pinch of nigella seeds.)
• Five 1/4 teaspoons of salt
• One and a half 1/4 teaspoons of garlic powder
• Half of a 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
• One 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• (Use your fingers to grab pinches of black pepper.)