Red Lentil Dal

A couple of weeks ago we featured an Ethiopian lentil dish and referenced the fact that we have enjoyed Indian red lentil dal for years. That’s when I realized that we had never featured this quick, flavourful dish here on VegHead. Brain fart! Adapted from Ottawa’s Green Door restaurant cook book, this is a meal that we make when nobody feels like cooking or we’re really short on time. It is so easy and requires so few ingredients that you won’t believe how yummy this dal is.

Red Lentil Dal

Course: DinnerCuisine: VeganDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Total time

50

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 small red onion, diced

• 2 big cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 Tbsp of fresh ginger, minced

• 1 tsp of garam masala

• 1 tsp of cumin powder

• 1/4 tsp of cardamom

• 1/2 tsp of turmeric

• 1 tsp of mango powder (if you have it)

• 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

• 1/2 tsp of salt

• 4 medium tomatoes, diced (or 1/2 of a 796 ml can of diced tomatoes)

• 50 g of creamed coconut

• 2 cups of red lentils

• 3 cups of water

• 1 cup of brown rice

• Coriander for garnish

Directions

• Prepare the rice as per instructions on the package.
• Heat a large frying pan over medium heat.
• To the pan add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until the onion becomes soft.
• Add the garam masala, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, mango, salt and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant.
• Add the tomato and coconut and mix well.
• Add the lentils and water, bring to a boil and let simmer until the lentils are soft, about 15 minutes.
• Serve hot with coriander garnish.

Notes

• We buy creamed coconut in a small box and tend to have a few on hand. It’s a simple way to add flavour to many dishes. They are available at most grocery stores in the Asian section.
• Feel free to add more water if you like a creamier dal, or less if you prefer a drier version.