Lentil Dal Recipes

EASY LENTIL DAL

Steps:

• Combine water, lentils, onion, and olive oil in a rice cooker. Seal and select setting according to manufacturer's instructions; cook until tender, about 30 minutes.
• Pour chickpeas, tomato paste, yogurt, curry paste, turmeric, cumin, and chile powder into the lentil mixture. Mix thoroughly. Cook until softened and flavors meld, about 15 minutes.

MASOOR DAL (SPICED RED LENTILS)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, heat oil, and sauté onion until softened. Add sweet potato, and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add minced ginger and garlic; stir, and reduce heat to low.
• Finely dice chili, keeping seeds if you wish to add more heat. Add chili, lentils, coriander, cumin, turmeric and ground ginger to pan. Stir until lentils are well coated with oil. Add tomatoes and 4 cups water. Raise heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat until mixture is at a fast simmer. Cook uncovered until lentils and potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt, and continue to simmer until mixture has thickened, about 10 minutes. Whisk dal to amalgamate lentils and sweet potatoes. If dal is too soupy, increase heat and cook for a little longer.
• To serve, place dal in a serving bowl and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. If desired, shave thin strips of fresh coconut on top. Serve hot.

DAL RECIPE (INDIAN RED LENTIL CURRY)

Steps:

• Rinse the lentils well until the water is clear and drain in colander. Tip: If using other yellow lentils instead of red lentils, then soaking in water for about an hour will help.
• In a medium cooking pot take the drained red lentils, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, sliced garlic, turmeric, water and bring it to a boil.
• Lower the heat and cook it for about 30 minutes. Add salt to taste and continue to cook until most lentils start breaking down, become a bit mushy and turn into a thick sauce like consistency.
• Cook the dal until it reaches a consistency that is thinner than what is desired, because it will thicken further after cooking.

LENTIL DAL

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Add onion, ginger, cumin, turmeric, red peppers, and garlic.
• Saute 2 minutes.
• Add cauliflower and tomatoes; saute 1 minute.
• Stir in water and lentils; bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until lentils are tender.
• Stir in lime juice, cilantro, and salt.
• Serve 1 cup lentil mixture with 1 cup rice.

DAL (INDIAN LENTIL CURRY)

Steps:

• Soak Lentils: Rinse lentils and leave to soak in plenty of water for 1 hour. Drain in colander.
• Heat ghee/oil in a heavy based saucepan over high heat. Add green chillies and fry for a minute until starting to blister.
• Add onions and fry until softened.
• Lower heat to medium, add garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Cook for 1 minute until garlic starts to turn golden and smells amazing.
• Add tomatoes and cumin, cook until tomatoes start to break down and thicken to a paste - about 2 minutes.
• Add lentils, water, tumeric and salt. Stir, bring to simmer, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour. Stir two or three times during the hour.
• Remove lid and simmer gently for 30 minutes to thicken, stirring every now and then. The dal is ready when it has a consistency like porridge - some lentils should be intact but some have broken down to thicken the sauce.
• Stir through garam masala at the end. Adjust salt if desired.
• Pour over Tadka, if using, and stir through.
• Serve Dal over rice, garnished with a sprig of coriander if desired.

RED LENTIL DAL

Steps:

• Blanch and chop the tomatoes: While the lentils are cooking in step 1, bring a separate small pot of water to a boil. Score the peel of the tomatoes with a sharp knife in the shape of an "X". Place the tomatoes in the boiling water and blanch for one minute. Remove the tomatoes to a bowl to cool. Once cool, peel the tomatoes and cut out and discard the tough stem end. Chop the tomatoes, or mash them, and set aside.

RED LENTIL DAL

Steps:

• Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup onion and 1 minced garlic clove and sauté until tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside. Combine 3 cups water, lentils, remaining 1 cup onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, turmeric, cumin and ginger in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer half of lentil mixture to processor; purée until smooth. Return purée to same saucepan. Mix in sautéed onion mixture. Simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Spoon rice into bowls. Spoon dal over. Top with tomatoes, cilantro and chili.

SPICY VEGAN LENTIL DAHL

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a 3-quart stockpot or other medium-sized soup pot, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring often, until the chopped onion is translucent, about 6 minutes.
• Stirring constantly, add the water or broth, lentils, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and salt. Bring to a low boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are very tender.
• Stir in the tomato paste until well combined. Cook several minutes more, or until the soup is at the desired temperature and consistency, adding more water to the dahl if needed.
• Garnish with a dollop of dairy-free soy yogurt if desired. Serve hot and enjoy.

RED LENTIL DHAL

Steps:

• Place lentils in a pan with the salt, cover with the water and bring to the boil.
• Remove the froth, reduce the heat and put the lid on the pan - leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Check the lentils are cooked by squeezing them between your fingers. Once soft remove from the heat.
• In a frying pan heat the oil or butter. Using a fork pierce the whole chillies and add to the pan with a bay leaf and the cumin seeds.
• When the seeds sizzle, remove the chilli and set to one side for your garnish.
• Add the onion and garlic and fry until lightly browned. Reduce the heat and add the tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, fenugreek and the chopped chilli. Gently let the ingredients cook down for about 10 minutes to make a thick masala paste.
• Add a ladle full of the lentils (dhal) to the masala paste in the frying pan and stir together, then empty all the contents back into the pan with the lentils and stir. It should have the consistency of a thick soup but if it's too thick just add a little boiling water and remove from the heat. If you prefer it thicker just leave it on the heat to reduce until you get the consistency you want.
• Check the seasoning and add a little salt if required. Stir in the garam masala, coriander and top with the whole chillies to serve.

RAGHAVAN'S PALAK MASOOR DAL (RED LENTILS WITH SPINACH)

Steps:

• Rinse lentils in a 3- to 4-quart pot with water, rubbing lentils between the fingertips of one hand, then drain. Repeat 3 or 4 times or until the water runs clear.
• Place drained lentils in the pot and add 2 cups water, tomatoes, ginger, chiles, and turmeric. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming and discarding foam. When tomato skin is loosened and wrinkled, after about 5 minutes of cooking, transfer tomatoes to a plate to cool.
• Reduce heat to medium and simmer lentils, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very tender and almost mushy, about 15 minutes. (The lentil color will change from salmon to pale yellow as they cook.) Keep warm over low heat.
• Meanwhile, peel and core cooled tomatoes; discard skins. Transfer tomatoes to a blender, along with the ginger and chiles from the pot and the cilantro. Pureé, scraping down the sides as needed, until you have a thick, green-flecked tomato sauce.
• Heat ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add cumin seeds and let sizzle until they turn reddish brown and smell nutty, about 10 seconds. Immediately add spinach in handfuls, stirring to wilt.
• Stir spinach mixture, tomato sauce, and salt into warm lentils. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, to let the flavors mingle, about 5 minutes.

DAL MAKHANI (INDIAN LENTILS)

Steps:

• Place lentils and kidney beans in a large bowl; cover with plenty of water. Soak for at least 2 hours or overnight. Drain.
• Cook lentils, kidney beans, 5 cups water, and salt in a pot over medium heat until tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Remove from heat and set aside. Keep the lentils, kidney beans, and any excess cooking water in the pot.
• Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook cumin seeds in the hot oil until they begin to pop, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and cloves; cook until bay leaves turn brown, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low; add ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir to coat.
• Stir tomato puree into spice mixture; cook over medium heat until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, coriander, and butter; cook and stir until butter is melted.
• Stir lentils, kidney beans and any leftover cooking water into tomato mixture; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Stir fenugreek into lentil mixture. Cover saucepan and simmer until heated through, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Add cream and cook until heated through, 2 to 4 minutes.