Everyday Red Lentil Dal
From scrumptious 17 years ago
- 40 minutes to make
- Serves 3
This simple dal is easy to make and incredibly delicious, and satisfies my perpetual simple-weeknight-vegetarian protein quest. The recipe is from my new favorite cookbook, "5 spices, 50 dishes" by Ruta Kahate, and originally called for yellow split peas (and hence had different cooking directions), but the version below reflects how I adapted it for red lentils, which were what I had on hand.
Ingredients
- 1 C. red lentils, picked over, rinsed, and drained shopping list
- 3 C. water shopping list
- 1 large tomato, cut into 8 wedges (or 8 oz. diced canned tomato) shopping list
- 1/4 C. canola oil shopping list
- 1/2 t. cumin seeds shopping list
- 1 medium onion (yellow or red), finely chopped shopping list
- 5 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced shopping list
- 1 t. ground coriander shopping list
- 3/4 t. ground turmeric shopping list
- 1/2 t. cayenne shopping list
- 1 T. butter or Earth Balance (vegan non-hydrogenated margarine) shopping list
- 3/4 t. salt shopping list
- 1/4 C. minced cilantro leaves (optional - I hate cilantro, but I included this for cilantro fans. You can also substitute parsley) shopping list
How to make it
- Place lentils, tomato (if using fresh tomato) and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils are tender and have lost their shape, about 40 minutes (begin checking that there is still water in the pot at 30 minutes and add small batches of water as needed).
- Pick out any tomato skins and whisk dal to emulsify it. Keep warm over low heat.
- Make the tadka (Indian spice preparation) as follows:
- Heat oil in a medium skillet over high heat.
- When oil begins to smoke, add cumin seeds.
- After seeds have stopped sputtering, add the garlic and onion and saute over medium heat until most of the onion has turned dark brown, 5-10 minutes.
- Add the coriander, turmeric, and cayenne, stir, and pour the onion/spice mixture over the dal.
- Add the butter/margarine, tomato (if using canned), (cilantro/parsley), and salt to the dal and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Serve hot.
The Rating
Reviewed by 5 people-
I love this dhal.... its now my standard recipie
jadejohnston
in Winnipeg loved it
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This dish was amazing! So delicious and flavorful that I will be making larges batches in the future for lots of leftovers!!
alauranoelle
in loved it
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Just made this tonight - absolutely great. I did include the cilantro and 1T lemon juice. Thank you!
wetchman
in omaha loved it
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