Red Lentil Dahl - AU Cups
This creamy red lentil dahl is a delicious and easy vegan and gluten free dinner that is, healthy, delicious and packed with flavour!
Equipment
- Medium heavy based saucepan with a lid
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or a neutral oil like vegetable oil
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 teaspoons ginger finely grated (approx 5 cm piece)
- 6-8 curry leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1¼ c red lentils
- ¾ c coconut milk
- 3 c water
- 2 large tomatoes roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a heavy based medium sized saucepan then add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and cook for 20-30 seconds over a high heat. Turn the heat down and add the chopped onion.
- Cook for 5 minutes then add the garlic, ginger and curry leaves and fry for a minute, until soft.
- Add the turmeric and ground coriander and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the red lentils, coconut milk, water, chopped tomatoes and salt then bring to a boil.
- Stir to make sure the lentils haven't stuck to the bottom of the pan, then turn the heat down slightly and cover with a lid. Simmer for 18-20 minutes until the lentils have softened, stirring every know and then to stop the lentils from sticking to the pan.
- Take the lid off and simmer for 5 minutes uncovered, stirring. Stir through the garam masala, then serve with boiled rice, naan, capati and topped with crispy curry leaves or tadka (see below).
- Store in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days, or freeze.
Notes
Tempering spices – tadka – this is optional but I highly recommend it for adding extra flavour and crunch to the finished Dahl. I like to use cumin seeds, mustard seeds and dried chilli. You could add thin strips of fresh ginger, coriander seeds, or finely chopped onion or shallot. Fry the spices in a spoonful of coconut oil or a neutral oil in a small saucepan (some spices can splutter). Heat over a medium heat, add a couple of seeds and as soon as they start to sizzle, add the rest of the spices. Cook for around a minute, until golden and fragrant.
INGREDIENTS
- Red Lentils – masoor Dahl. These split red lentils require no soaking and cook quickly. They are a great store cupboard staple, and are perfect for padding out soups and pasta sauce.
- Coconut milk – I recommend using full fat coconut milk for the creamiest Dahl.
- Water – you don’t need to use any stock, water is fine. However if you have some leftover homemade vegetable stock or want to use bought stock that is fine 🙂
- Spices – in this recipe I use a combination of whole and dried spices: yellow mustard seeds and cumin seeds, ground coriander and ground turmeric, and garam masala. You can substitute the teaspoon of cumin seeds for 1 teaspoon ground cumin and add with the ground coriander, or use 1 teaspoon coriander seeds instead of the ground coriander and add with the cumin seeds
- Tomatoes – I have made this Dahl recipe with both tinned / canned tomatoes and fresh tomatoes and loved them both!
- Curry leaves – this South Asian ingredient is optional but if you can find curry leaves I recommend adding them as they add a distinctive pungent flavour that cannot be replicated. You can freeze curry leaves, so use what you need and freeze the rest to use in other dishes, like in this slow cooker beef madras or as a crunchy topping like with this mushroom bhaji.
- If serving this to young kids, keep in mind the turmeric can stain clothing!
- The spices can burn easily so keep an eye on them.
- The dal thickens as it cooks. If it looks a little thick, thin it with a splash of water.
Nutrition
Calories: 399kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 19gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 609mgPotassium: 1015mgFiber: 21gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 847IUVitamin C: 49mgCalcium: 92mgIron: 7mg
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