The red lentil dahl is a rich and spicy main dish, typical of Indian cuisine. The term dal, sometimes known as “dail,” refers to various types of dried legumes: beans, peas, and lentils. It is also often used to call soups made exactly with these types of legumes, among the most important foods of the Indian subcontinent. The most common way to prepare dahl is in the form of a soup and today I present mine, made with red lentils.
The recipe is very simple and involves pre-cooking the lentils in water. The lentils used for this recipe are red split lentils, which require very few minutes of cooking and do not need soaking. After they dry, they are added to a mixture of Indian typical vegetables and spices and cooked for a few minutes with coconut milk. You can serve the dahl with boiled Basmati rice as in my recipe, or with naan bread. In short, a typical Indian flavored main dish that you won’t stop preparing, perfect to bring to the table on any occasion. Now follow me into the kitchen, because the red lentil dahl will be ready in a click!
If you are interested in other Indian recipes, also read:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 1 cup cup red split lentils
- 1 3/4 cups cups water
- 1/2 white onion
- 1 tbsp tbsp fresh ginger
- 1 tsp tsp curry
- 1/2 tsp tsp turmeric powder
- 1 hot chili pepper
- 1 tbsp tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp tbsps tomato puree
- 1.7 oz oz coconut milk
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- cilantro (to taste)
- 1 cup cup Basmati rice
- 1 3/4 cups cups water
- 1 star anise
- 1 tsp coarse salt
Tools
- 2 High-edged saucepans
- Wok
- Cutting Board
- Knife
Steps
First, cook the lentils and rice. Place the legumes in a high-edged saucepan after washing them under water. Then add the water, salt, and lentils and cook until they have absorbed all the water and become soft.
Now pour the Basmati rice into another saucepan, add the water, the star anise which you will remove at the end of cooking and the salt. Then cook the rice on low heat with the lid, until it has absorbed all the water.
Separately, clean and chop half an onion, do the same with the ginger and the chili pepper after removing the seeds inside, and sauté them for a few minutes in the wok. Also, add the curry and turmeric, toasting them for a few minutes. Pour in the tomato puree, the previously cooked lentils, and the coconut milk. Continue cooking for 5 minutes on high heat until the latter has been absorbed, stirring with a spoon to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom.
The lentil dahl is ready! Serve it with the previously boiled Basmati rice and some roughly chopped cilantro.
Variations and Advice
Red lentil dahl can be stored for one or two days in the refrigerator in a container with a lid.
Alternatively to cilantro, you can also use fresh parsley.
