Warm Up with This Easy Yellow Lentil Soup Recipe – A Family Favorite!

This yellow lentil soup recipe paired with rice is genuine comfort food for my family. Whenever we all come back from vacation or my husband or I come back from a work trip, we always have a big bowl of it for dinner. It’s light, healthy, and super-easy to make. Sometimes, we eat it by itself as a soup, and other times, we have it with vegan naan and cabbage to make it a complete meal.  

Yellow moong dal, a split yellow mung bean, is a key component of this soup, which is known as an easily digestible, high-protein “Sattvic” food, often used for healing in Ayurveda. For me, it is comfort food. It reminds me of my childhood and home. Often referred to as chicken noodle soup in India, this yellow moong dal soup recipe is often fed to children and adults when they are sick or have stomach pain.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Brilliant yellow in color and spiced with curry powder, this yellow dal soup recipe has a warming spiciness but isn’t fiery hot. The combination of ginger, garlic, and curry powder adds warmth and a gentle spiciness to the yellow moong dal, taking something that otherwise might be quite bland over the top. This dish is comforting, hearty, and filling, and the preparation of it takes very little time meaning that you will be able to make it on a whim after a busy day.

If you are looking for other dishes that contain legumes or are looking for ways to cook lentils, you will likely enjoy my Cumin Lentil Soup or my South-Indian Style Dal. Similar to this yellow moong dal soup, both of these recipes are well-spiced but not fiery hot. Here are all the reasons why you will love this fiber-rich and healthy dish:

• Less Than 1 Hour to Make: Since this recipe includes so many flavorful spices, it doesn’t need a lot of cooking time to become flavorful. The main component that requires is the dried yellow mung beans which only requires around 20 minutes of simmering time on the stove.
• Full of Flavor: Between the curry powder, fresh ginger root, and garlic, this dal recipe packs a punch with little effort. You need to mince the ginger and garlic finely so that they incorporate into the dal easily and you get their flavors in every bite. In the case of the curry powder, make sure it is nice and fresh for optimal flavor. For more Indian flavors, feel free to check out my Peas Pulao recipe which is a pea and rice dish with fragrant cumin, cardamom, and cinnamon.
• Rich in Protein and Fiber: Similar to lentils, yellow moong dal has plenty of fiber, about 2 to 3 grams per 100 grams cooked. Meanwhile, it contains around 7 to 9 grams of protein for that same amount. If you are simply trying to get more fiber in your diet or are plant-based and are looking for more ways to add protein, yellow moong dal is an excellent legume to add to your diet. You may also be interested in checking out my Tomato & Lentil Soup and my Potato Lentil Soup, which are similarly nutritious, protein-rich, and full of fiber.

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

While this yellow dal soup recipe is relatively low effort to make, it requires some key ingredients. Here is a list of the yellow dal soup ingredients so you can make it yourself:

• yellow moong dal
• water
• ginger
• garlic
• curry powder
• grape tomatoes
• sea salt
• pepper
• coconut oil
• black mustard seeds
• garam masala
• cilantro

Step-by-Step Instructions

If you have ever wondered how to make yellow moong dal soup at home, rest assured that it is very quick and easy. Here is how to make it:

1. Wash the moong dal well under running water.
2. Soak the beans in warm water for 15 minutes.
3. Drain them and wash them again, and then drain them one last time.
4. In a deep pot, add the dal, water, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and tomatoes.
5. Cook uncovered over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Skim off the white foam on top as needed.
6. Remove dal and season with salt and pepper.
7. In a small pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
8. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle. Do not overcook as overcooked mustard will add a bitter taste to the dal.
9. Turn off the heat and add the garam masala.
10. Drop the spice mixture into the pot and stir well.
11. Garnish with cilantro and serve immediately with rice or naan.

Tips for the Best Results

While this yellow moong dal recipe doesn’t require a lot of effort, there are some things to keep in mind to ensure you have delicious results. Here is everything you need to know to make the best dal recipe ever:

• Don’t Skip Soaking and Rinsing the Dal: Similar to other types of dried beans, it is beneficial to soak the yellow moong dal before you begin making this dish for a few different reasons. For one thing, the soaking process will help reduce digestive issues you may have once they are cooked, and for another, it will reduce the cooking time. 
• Don’t Overcook the Mustard Seeds: If you overcook or blacken the mustard seeds, they will impart a bitter taste to your finished yellow moong bean dish. For that reason, if you feel that you overheated your pan, allow it to cool down slightly before adding the mustard seeds. Once they pop, sizzle, and smell fragrant, you will know they are toasted enough.
• Taste and Adjust Seasonings: Once the dish is cooked, taste it and make sure that you enjoy the balance of flavors. You may find that you need to add a little more salt to help bring out all the flavors.

Storage & Reheating

Leftover yellow moong dal soup can simply be stored in a sealed container in the fridge where it should keep for up to 3 to 4 days. Then, to reheat it, you can heat it up in a pot on the stove or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, adding water (about a ¼ cup at a time) if needed to thin it out.

Serving Suggestions

While this yellow moong dal recipe is perfect on its own, I sometimes like to serve it with naan bread and a cabbage & coconut stir-fry to round out the meal. However, you could also it with any other bread that you have on hand to soak up the sauciness of the soup. It would also be delicious served with some rice alongside some other vegan Indian dishes to make it a full spread.

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Easy Yellow Lentil Soup

4.50 from 2 votes

This yellow lentil soup recipe paired with rice is genuine comfort food for my family. Whenever we all come back from vacation or my husband or I come back from a work trip, we always have a big bowl of it for dinner. It’s light, healthy, and super-easy to make. Sometimes, we eat it by itself as a soup, and other times, we have it with vegan naan and cabbage to make it a complete meal.  

Servings: 4 people

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

Ingredients 

For Yellow Moong Dal

• 1 cup yellow moong dal
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, (peeled, grated)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic, (peeled, grated)
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, homemade or store-bought curry powder
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, (cut in half)
• Sea salt
• Pepper

For Tempering of Tadka

• 2 teaspoons olive oil, or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds, or cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garam masala

For Garnish

• Cilantro, (washed, chopped)

Instructions 

For Yellow Moong Dal

• Wash moong dal well under running water.  
• Soak beans in warm water for 15 minutes.  
• Drain and wash again, then drain one last time.
• In deep pot, add dal, water, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and tomatoes.
• Cook uncovered over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Skim off the white foam on top as needed.
• Remove dal and season with salt and pepper.  

For Tempering of Tadka

• In a small pan, heat oil over medium heat.
• Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle. Do not overcook as overcooked mustard will add a bitter taste to the dal.
• Turn off the heat and add the garam masala.
• Drop spice mixture into the pot and stir well.

For Garnish

• Garnish with cilantro and serve immediately with rice or naan.

Bon appétit!

Equipment

• 1 large pot

Notes

• Rinsing the yellow moong dal will help reduce digestive issues and gas while reducing the cooking time.
• Skimming off the white foam that forms on the dal during cooking will reduce bitterness.
• If you find that your yellow moong dal is bitter at the end of cooking, you can stir in some lemon or lime juice to balances the flavors.

Nutrition

Calories: 208kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 14gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 27mgPotassium: 56mgFiber: 6gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 258IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 2mg

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