Murghi aur Masoor Dal is a cozy and comforting chicken dal dish hailing from Bombay. It features red lentils and chicken pieces stewed together in a fragrant mixture of onions, garlic, ginger, and spices.
(This recipe was originally published in January 2015, but was updated with new photos and content in 2022).
This Murghi aur Masoor Dal (Chicken Dal) recipe is simple to make and really captures so many wonderful Indian flavors. It's not particularly spicy, but it can be if you use the entire chili pepper and more of the chili powder.
Typical inclusions of cumin, turmeric, garam masala, ginger, and garlic flavor not only the delicious lentil base but also the tender, braised chicken pieces.
I like to think of this as an Indian version of a "one pot wonder" since the chicken is actually braised with the lentils, which are a typical side dish in Indian cuisine. This chicken dal is more than enough to be a meal of its own, but having some basmati rice or naan on the side to soak up the sauce/lentils is a nice touch.
Ingredient notes
- Red Lentils: Unlike brown and green lentils, red lentils are hulled and split and are meant to soften to the point of disintegration. They will thicken this curry without much effort. Red lentils have become more and more common in grocery stores (in the dry beans and legumes aisle or ethic foods aisle), online, and of course are prevalent in Middle Eastern markets.
- Fresh Green Chili: I use about half a thinly sliced jalapeno pepper (very common and easy to find), but you could use another type of fresh chili in this recipe depending on what you can get. Just note that the spice level can range significantly between chili varieties.
- Chicken: This recipe for chicken dal uses skinless bone-in chicken pieces. I usually buy a whole chicken and butcher it myself into 10 pieces (2 thighs, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, and 4 breast pieces—I cut each bone-in breast in half crosswise). You could also use all chicken thighs and/or chicken thighs and drumsticks if you prefer. Just make sure to purchase them bone-in and then remove the skin yourself. Note that if you use boneless chicken pieces, they will cook faster. Also, the weight of how much chicken you need will be significantly different than what is called for in the recipe.
How to make it
Combine the lentils, onions, green chili, cumin, turmeric, ½ teaspoon minced ginger and the water in a large, heavy pan (PHOTOS 1-2).
Bring to a simmer, cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar, and cook on low heat for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are very tender.
Stir in the salt and add the chicken pieces (PHOTO 3). Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 25 to 35 minutes or until the chicken is tender (PHOTO 4).
Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the remaining ½ teaspoon minced ginger and the garlic. Fry until the garlic starts to barely brown. Stir in the ground chili powder (PHOTO 5). Immediately pour this mixture into the pan with the chicken and lentils (PHOTO 6).
Stir in the lemon juice, sugar, and garam masala. Stir to combine and cook on medium heat uncovered for about 15 more minutes until the mixture reduces and thickens a bit. The chicken dal will continue to thicken more as it sits.
Sprinkle the cilantro over the top just before serving, if desired.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
This chicken dal is not as thick as some other chicken curries. It's a bit more like a stew in it's consistency with a lentil-thickened broth and large bone-in chicken pieces. You may cook it longer uncovered it you want to reduce it even further.
I'm personally not the biggest fan of bone-in chicken pieces in curries and stews because it's harder to eat. This traditional Bombay-style curry uses bone-in chicken pieces though, so I want to stick to the authentic approach here.
The spiciness of this chicken dal curry is very customizable. You can adjust the amount of fresh and dried ground chili powder to suit your taste.
Chicken dal is often served with basmati rice on the side, but I also love it with warm naan. Crusty bread would also be a delicious accompaniment.
Other recipes you may like
- Chicken Saag (Indian Chicken and Spinach Curry)
- Indian Chicken Korma
- Murgh Masala (Chicken Masala)
- Chicken Vindaloo
- Punjabi Dal Makhani
- Chana Dal (Bengal Gram)
- Browse all Poultry Recipes
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Murghi aur Masoor Dal (Bombay-style Chicken Dal)
Ingredients
- 250 grams (1 ⅓ cups) red lentils picked over, washed and drained
- 75 grams (½ cup) finely chopped onion
- ½ to 1 fresh, hot green chili, finely sliced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon peeled and minced ginger divided
- 6 cups water
- 2 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ½ kilograms (3 pounds) bone-in chicken pieces skinned
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or other neutral oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- ¼ to ¾ teaspoon Indian red chili powder (you can substitute cayenne)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro optional
Instructions
- Combine the lentils, onions, green chili, cumin, turmeric, ½ teaspoon minced ginger and the water in a large, heavy pan. Bring to a simmer, cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar, and cook on low heat for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are very tender.
- Stir in the salt and add the chicken pieces. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 25 to 35 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
- Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the remaining ½ teaspoon minced ginger and the garlic. Fry until the garlic starts to barely brown. Stir in the ground chili powder, then immediately pour this mixture into the pan with the chicken and lentils.
- Stir in the lemon juice, sugar, and garam masala. Stir to combine and cook on medium heat uncovered for about 15 more minutes until the mixture reduces and thickens a bit. It will continue to thicken more as it sits.
- Sprinkle the cilantro over the top just before serving, if desired.
Notes
- This chicken dal is not as thick as some other chicken curries. It's a bit more like a stew in it's consistency with a lentil-thickened broth and large bone-in chicken pieces. You may cook it longer uncovered it you want to reduce it even further.
- Chicken dal is often served with basmati rice on the side, but I also love it with warm naan. Crusty bread would also be a delicious accompaniment.
- This recipe uses kosher salt (aka cooking salt, kitchen salt, coarse salt outside of the US). If you are using table salt, definitely scale down the salt as that is a saltier type of salt! The type of salt will make a big difference in how salty your food tastes, so keep that in mind.
- Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cooking
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
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