Toor Daal (Arhar): Oily vs Unpolished, Whistles and Daal Fry

That shiny, slightly sticky toor daal in the packet isn’t spoiled. It’s oiled on purpose, and a few washes in warm water take the coating off. Then the toor dal cooking time in a pressure cooker is simple: soak 30 minutes, 1 cup daal to 3 cups water, 3 whistles on medium. Here is how to wash oily arhar, cook it on a stove too, make a plain daal fry, tell it apart from chana daal, and what the fake toor dal stories really amount to.

What arhar daal is, for readers who rarely buy it

Arhar (toor) is the split, skinned seed of the pigeon pea, a bushy plant grown across India and in parts of Sindh and Punjab. In much of India it’s the daily daal, the base of sambar, Gujarati sweet-sour daal and plain daal chawal. In Pakistan it’s less common and most kitchens reach for masoor, moong or chana instead, although homes with Hyderabadi or UP roots in Karachi still cook arhar for khatti daal.

It looks like a paler, flatter, rounder chana daal. It cooks softer than chana daal and slower than masoor. Taste? Mild and slightly nutty, and it takes a sour note (imli, tomato, kokum) better than most daals.

Oily toor vs unpolished toor, and how to wash it

You’ll see two kinds in the shop. Oily (or “tel wali”) toor has a thin coat of edible oil rubbed on after milling, which keeps insects off in storage and gives it a gloss. Unpolished toor is sold dry and matte, with nothing added. Both are fine to eat. The unpolished kind needs less washing and doesn’t leave a film on the pot, while the oily kind usually keeps longer on the shelf.

1. Put 1 cup toor in a bowl and cover with warm water, about 40 °C, comfortable to the hand.
2. Rub the grains firmly between your palms for 20 seconds. The water will turn cloudy and a little greasy.
3. Drain and repeat 3 to 4 times, until the water looks clear and the grains no longer feel slippery.
4. Finish with one rinse in cold water, then soak.

Unpolished toor just needs the normal 2 or 3 rinses in plain water. Either way, pick through it first for small stones and discoloured grains.

Toor dal cooking time in a pressure cooker

Three whistles on medium, soaked. That covers most 3 to 5 litre cookers.

1. Soak 1 cup (200 g) washed toor daal in water for 30 minutes. Drain.
2. Add 3 cups (750 ml) water, 1/2 tsp haldi, 1 tsp oil and, if you like, 1 small chopped tomato.
3. Close, heat on high until it hisses, then medium. Count 3 whistles soaked, 4 to 5 unsoaked.
4. Switch off and let the pressure drop naturally, 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Open and mash with a ghotni or the back of a ladle until creamy. Add 1 tsp salt and hot water to the thickness you want.

Toor foams, like every daal, so keep the cooker no more than half full with daal and water. If the whistle is weak, the gasket leaks or the vent looks blocked, fix it first with our pressure cooker safety guide.

How to cook toor dal without a pressure cooker

Boil 1 cup soaked toor in 4 cups water with haldi and a teaspoon of oil in a heavy, deep pot, skimming the foam for the first 5 minutes, then cover partly and simmer on low for 40 to 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and adding hot water if it thickens too early. Unsoaked, allow about an hour. It’s done when the grains mash to a paste with the back of a spoon.

How to cook toor dal faster

• Soak it. Even 30 minutes cuts the cooking time noticeably.
• Salt at the end, and add tamarind or a lot of tomato only once it’s soft. Acid slows softening.
• Use hot water when topping up, so the boil never stops.
• Buy fresh stock. Old toor can stay grainy no matter what you do.

A plain toor daal fry

This is the restaurant-style daal fry, thicker than daily daal, for roti or jeera rice. Serves 4.

1. Cook 1 cup toor as above with only 2.5 cups water so it stays thick. Mash lightly.
2. Heat 2 tbsp ghee or oil. Crackle 1 tsp zeera and 1/2 tsp rai (mustard seeds).
3. Add 1 chopped onion and fry 5 minutes until soft and just golden.
4. Add 4 chopped garlic cloves, 1 tsp grated ginger and 2 slit green chillies. Fry 1 minute.
5. Add 1 large chopped tomato, 1/2 tsp lal mirch and 1/2 tsp dhania powder. Cook 4 to 5 minutes until the tomato breaks down.
6. Stir in the daal and 1/2 cup hot water, simmer 5 minutes, and finish with 1/4 tsp garam masala, hara dhania and a squeeze of lemon.

For a second, smoky tarka on top, heat 1 tsp ghee with 2 dry red chillies and a pinch of hing and pour it over just before serving.

Arhar vs chana daal: telling the look-alikes apart

The yellow daals are easy to mix up in an unlabelled jar, and cheaper ones are sometimes passed off as dearer ones.

Chana daal needs a longer soak and holds its shape, which is why its own chana daal soaking and cooking guide exists. Arhar melts into a creamy daal. If a daal sold as arhar smells distinctly of peas when it cooks and goes floury rather than creamy, it’s probably matar daal.

Fake toor dal: what’s real and what’s a scare

Most “fake daal” videos are overblown, but two real problems have a long history with arhar. One is mixing in khesari daal (grass pea), which looks similar and is cheaper. Eaten as a large, daily part of the diet over months, khesari has been linked to a paralysing nerve disease of the legs (lathyrism), mainly in times of famine. The other is colouring dull daal with non-food yellow dyes to make it look fresh.

What can you check at home? Khesari grains are more wedge-shaped and squarish, with one slanted edge, while toor halves are round. A daal that stains the washing water bright yellow or leaves colour on your palms is suspect. Neither check proves anything. Only a lab confirms adulteration, so don’t taste-test a doubtful batch; just return it and buy a sealed pack from a brand you trust.

Does arhar dal cause gas? And what a katori gives

Arhar dal gas banati hai kya? For some people, yes, a little. Skinned toor is in the middle of the pack, gassier than yellow moong, gentler than whole pulses like rajma or sabut moong. Soaking, washing off the oil, cooking until fully soft and using hing, zeera and ginger in the tarka all help, and for bloating that has already started, the remedies in our gas and bloating guide apply.

A katori of medium toor daal (from about 35 g dry) gives around 7 to 8 g of protein, a few grams of fibre and roughly 120 kcal before the ghee. It’s a normal, good daal. Nothing more.

Myth: arhar is too “garam” to eat in summer

Some families put toor, like mash, in the “hot” column and avoid it in summer. That’s the traditional hot and cold food idea, not a measured effect. Arhar is eaten every day through Indian summers, often as thin daal and sambar, without trouble.

Storing toor daal

Dry toor keeps up to a year in an airtight container; the oily kind resists insects a little better. Check monthly for webbing, powder or holes, and follow our weevil-proof storage guide if keeray show up. Cooked daal keeps 2 days in the fridge once chilled within 2 hours, or a month frozen. See more pulses in Grains, Daals & Pulses.

Toor and arhar dal questions