A well rounded dinner, this Coconut Red Lentil Dal is flavorful, warming, rich, and filling! The best part - it can typically be thrown together using everyday pantry items and whatever veggies you have lying around in the fridge/freezer. The lentils and rice combined create a complete protein, and the tumeric and garlic have great anti-inflammatory properties.
I consider this coconut red lentil dal l a staple in my house. I LOVE Indian food, like really REALLY love it. Like most foods I love, the versions I create are nowhere near as tasty as those prepared by cooks who have learned to master the flavors of these dishes. Someday I hope to travel the world, learning these techniques from the master home cooks themselves. But until then, I gotta get my Indian fix in at home.
There are countless variations to the preparation of dal. This one uses coconut milk, turmeric, and whole cumin/mustard seeds to bring the split red lentils to life. The word dal means split lentils, but can also mean a thick puree or soup, made with lentils.
Always Bloom Your Spices
The key to making this recipe (or any other recipe really) is to fry or bloom the spices FIRST. Before anything else.
By blooming the spices, in this case whole cumin and mustard seeds, in a little coconut oil (or ghee) first does two things. First, the fat from the oil allows the fat soluble flavor compounds in the spices to be released. Second, adding the spices to the oil first and heating them allows the flavors to be released and mix into your dish more evenly. If you add spices at the end of cooking, you will not extract near as much flavor from them.
Blooming = flavortown... you can do this when sauteing onions/ garlic for your favorite dishes, or for pretty much any cooked dish using spices, it will make a HUGE difference with flavor... you're welcome 🙂
So, while blooming the spices for this coconut red lentil dal, you'll want to heat the seeds up over medium heat in oil. Next, wait for them to start popping and turning into a lightly toasted brown color. Watch them closely because they turn from toasted brown to black, and then to burned real quick. You might also lose a couple seeds as they pop while toasting, so using a lid can help corral them.
When the seeds are toasted you will smell them, and see the color change, and it will be time to add the onion/garlic and continue on with the recipe!
Coconut Red Lentil Dal : Home Cook Hack
Want to know the best part about this dal? You can make it from your well stocked pantry, which I have hopefully been helping you curate! You will be able to whip up a healthy, delicious meal when your running low on groceries.
I often make this when I come home from a trip and my fridge is purposely empty! Simply toss any veggies in the crisper or freezer in to the dal, utilize your pantry staples and voila! Dinnnnna is served my friends.
In your pantry, you'll want to keep a type of lentil (split red is my fave, green following closely behind), a type of rice, coconut milk, cumin/mustard seeds, and bouillon cubes/broth.
As always, the MHC way is to cook according to what you have on hand and to your preferences, so feel free to swap the veggies and type of lentils/rice used in this recipe!
Coconut Red Lentil Dal (v)
This dal is creamy, flavorful, and filling! It's bloomed spices give it amazing flavor, while the creaminess from the coconut milk balances everything out. It's vegan, gluten-free, and super simple to make.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp mustard seed (whole)
- 2 tbsp cumin seed (whole)
- 1 medium onion (white or brown) (diced)
- 5 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ¾ tsp tummeric powder
- 2 large carrots (sliced)
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 cup split red lentils (massor dal)* (rinsed*)
- 2.5 - 3 cups broth (I use bouillon cubes)
- ½ cup peas (I use frozen, but canned or fresh work too)
- ¼-½ tsp kosher salt (to taste)
SERVING (OPTIONAL)
- cilantro
- rice, quinoa, naan
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil in pan over medium heat. Add cumin and mustard seeds to oil, stir to coat.
Let them cook until they turn slightly brown and start becoming fragrant, 2-3 minutes. *Be care not to overcook as the mustard seeds burn easily. (Sometimes it's helpful to hover the pan over the heat source to avoid burning). - Add onion, garlic, and spices, stirring occasionally until onion starts becoming fragrant and begins turning translucent, cook 3-4 minutes.
- Add carrots, coconut milk, lentils, and broth (more brother yields a runnier dal, less broth yields a thicker dal).
- Bring mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook uncovered for 20-25 minutes until lentils are cooked.
- Stir in peas, remove from heat. Adjust salt and spices to taste. Serve with rice/naan/quinoa and cilantro.
Notes
* Rinse split red lentils under running warm water in colander until water runs clear. Can use whole red lentils, just increase the cooking time a few minutes as split red lentils cook faster.
Stores in fridge at least one week.
Keywords: vegan, gluten-free, vegan coconut dal, cumin & mustard seed dal
love love love this recipe!!!
★★★★★
So glad to hear you liked it!