Dry Moong Dal (Sookhi Moong Dal Recipe)

Dry Moong dal is a delicious, healthy, protein packed recipe made with boiled moong dal (yellow lentil), few spices, lemon juice & fresh herbs. It is light, refreshing, great for breakfast and can be served with roti or paratha too.

As most of the lentil or dal recipes are soupy or gravy like, this yellow moong dal recipe is made without any gravy and hence also known by other names like ‘sookhi moong dal’ (sookhi means dry), sukhi moong dal, moong dal dry, dry mung dahl etc.

This dry yellow moong dal recipe is so easy to make and has no onion, no garlic and no tomatoes. It is :

Vegan
Low in Fat
Vegetarian
Gluten Free
High in Protein

It can be served hot or warm depending on the weather. For a light dinner, you can serve it with hot chapatis (roti) or paratha and for breakfast you can accompany it with buttered toast. It can be enjoyed as evening snack or even packed in kids lunch box.

Ingredients for Dry Moong Dal:

Moong dal: Yellow Moong Dal, also called ‘small yellow lentils’ in english, is basically split & dehusked whole green gram (sabut moong). It takes lesser time to cook in comparison to other lentils, is light on stomach and hence easy to digest.

A 100 grams serving of boiled moong dal has ~8 grams of protein. So if you are looking for high protein & low fat recipes, this is definitely a keeper.

Spices & Aromatics: This dry moong dal is spiced with cumin seeds (jeera), asafoetida (heeng), turmeric (haldi) and red chilli powder. Instead of red chilli powder, you can even use crushed black pepper.

Finely chopped green chillies and fresh grated ginger add wonderful flavour and aroma to dal. You can even use store bought ginger paste or ginger-garlic paste.

Oil / Ghee: You can use desi ghee (clarified butter) or any cooking oil of your choice like olive oil, avocado oil etc.

Lemon & Herbs: Once dal is ready, it is sprinkled with freshly squeezed lemon juice and chopped coriander (or cilantro). Both these ingredients instantly elevates the dish with their bright vibrant flavour. Please do not skip them.

Garam Masala: I love sprinkling garam masala on top of moong dal as it adds a warm rustic aroma to the dish along with a touch of heat. However if you don’t like it or do not have it, you can skip it also

Variations:

1. This dry moong dal is one of the recipes that I have always seen at my home being made without onion or garlic. If you wish you can use a small onion, minced garlic cloves, chopped tomatoes or tomato puree while sautéing the spices.

2. You can enjoy this dal as salad also. After cooking moong dal, let it cool completely. Add chopped cucumber, tomatoes, onion, green chillies, boiled potatoes, green chillies & coriander (cilantro or mint) to it. Sprinkle some lemon juice, chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, mix gently and enjoy.

How to make dry moong dal?

The charm of the recipe is that each moong dal grain should be separate and not sticky at all. The dal should be soft, tender and at the same time not mushy.

To make this recipe, we begin by washing & soaking yellow moong dal (lentil) for 15-20 minutes. Soaking reduces the cooking time and makes the lentils easy to digest.

Then we prepare a tempering and cook moong dal in it with some water till it is just enough cooked. I have explained open pan stove top method here but you can also boil it in pressure cooker or instant pot.

Can I make sookhi moong dal in advance?

This sookhi moong dal does not require much preparation or cooking time. It can be made in advance and stored in airtight container in fridge. Just add some lemon juice or chopped coriander to it before serving.

Hope you would like this simple dry moong dal or sookhi moong dal recipe. More recipes with dal:

Ingredients:

Moong Dal / Small Yellow Lentil (dried)- 1 cup
Oil / Ghee- 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds (Jeera)- 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida (Heeng)- A pinch
Green chillies (chopped)- 1 to 2
Ginger (grated)- 1 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp (to taste)
Water- 1+1/4 cup (for cooking)
Turmeric (Haldi)– 1/2 tsp
Salt- 3/4 tsp (to taste)
Garam Masala- 1/4 tsp
Lemon Juice- 1 tbsp
Chopped coriander / Cilantro-For garnishing

Note:

If you are soaking moong dal or lentil for 1 to 2 hours then you need only 1 cup water for cooking (i.e 1 cup water for 1 cup dal) else take (1+1/4) cup water. The above recipe yields 2 to 3 servings.

Directions:

Step 1:

Wash the moong dal 2 to 3 times till you get clear water. Soak it in 3 cups fresh water for 15-20 minutes.

Step 2:

Heat oil or ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds (jeera), asafoetida (hing), green chillies, red chilli powder and ginger. Sauté for 30-40 seconds till cumin seeds begin to crackle. (If you are adding onion, garlic or tomato puree, add them at this step and cook till onions become translucent.)

Step 3:

Drain the soaked moong lentil (discard the water in which it was soaked). Add it to the pan along with salt, turmeric (haldi) and water. Bring it to boil once and then simmer. Cover and let the dal cook for 11-13 minutes.

Step 4:

After 11 minutes, open the lid and check if all the water has evaporated and dal is cooked (taste or press it with fingers to check). If it is still uncooked add 2-3 tbsp water, cover and cook for more time. We want it to be tender but not mushy.

Step 5:

Once moong dal is cooked, add lemon juice and chopped coriander (or cilantro) and mix gently with fork. Sprinkle some garam masala on top.

Garnish with more fresh herbs and serve with 1-2 lemon wedges.

Tips:

1. Storage and Reheating: You can store leftover moong dal in an airtight container in fridge for 2-3 days. Sprinkle some water on it before reheating in microwave to avoid it from drying.

2. Sometimes dal may take longer to cook depending on its quality or of it is too old. Add some more water and cook it for longer time.

3. Feel free to adjust the quantity of spices as per your taste.

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(This recipe was originally published on Jun 9, 2017 and has been updated with fresh images and tips.)

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(4 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)