Red lentil dal
€3.43 │ €0.86 per portion │ Serves 4 │ 30-45mins │ India
Reliable, filling, and colourful, red lentil dal is a delicious and comforting curry. Spiced, vibrant, with chunks of carrot, this red lentil dal is affordable and perfect to make in big batches, freezing extras for emergency meals. A meal plan essential!
What to serve it with?
Red lentil dal is filling and rich in savoury flavours. Alongside carb-based sides like rice, saag aloo, or flatbreads, serve dal with small, fresh sides. Think mint yoghurt, or a little salad of pickles and/or cucumbers.
How to use in a meal plan
Good home economics is using ingredients smartly - and that saves money and cuts food waste. A meal plan is a great way to do this.
Red lentil dal is a great bulk meal. Packed with flavour and designed for large quantities, it's a guaranteed lunch and dinner combo, and often comes with much extra. Perfect to freeze as an emergency meal!
When we meal plan, we usually make a dal when we want to rely on fewer fresh ingredients or are running low on freezer meals.
Leftovers
Spoonfeed meal plans save you money by using the economy of scale. Making dinner also your leftover lunch avoids spending money and extra time cooking!
Red lentil dal is great the next day warmed back up. It microwaves just fine. Be aware of zapping the dal of too much moisture, and of course, not to reheat rice more than once. Dal and rice can be kept together in the same tupperware too, because dal is thick enough that the rice won't absorb it.
Utensils
- Sauté pot + lid/aluminium foil
- Saucepan + lid
- Ladle/serving spoon
Ingredients
- 250g red lentils
- 250g rice
- 400ml can crushed tomato
- 200ml coconut milk
- 1 carrot
- 1 large onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 2 tbsp butter/ghee
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 4 cloves
- 2 cardamom seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- Fresh coriander (optional)
Method
- Dice onions, garlic, and ginger. Cut carrots into demi-rondelles, not too thin but not too chunky. Cut coriander stalks thinly, roughly cut the leaves.
- Rinse red lentils under cold running water then set aside, then rinse rice under cold water until it runs clear and put in a saucepan. Set aside.
- In a sauté pot, heat butter/ghee on medium heat. Once melted, add cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add onions with a salt and pepper for 3-5 minutes, until it begins to take colour, then add garlic and ginger, frying until fragrant for about 1 minute. Add carrot, mixing well for 1 more minute.
- Add red lentils and keep the ingredients moving for 1 minute. Then add crushed tomato, mix well, then put in turmeric, chilli powder, coriander stalks, garam masala, and a bay leaf. Cover with 600-800ml stock (well enough to cover), and top with the lid or aluminium foil. Simmer for 25-30 minutes.
- In a saucepan for rice, add cardamom, cloves, and a bay leaf, then boiling water to the ratio instructed on your packet. They say you can eyeball this by poking your outstretched index finger just into the rice, then covering to around your first knuckle. Bring to the boil, once boiling, simmer for 12 minutes. Don't take the lid off. After 12 minutes, leave to steam for 5 minutes, fluff with a fork, then put the lid back on and steam for another 5 minutes.
- Look at the lentils to ensure there it is not too dry and burning, mixing occasionally. Once the lentils have totally broken down, add peanut butter, honey, and coconut milk. Cook for another 3-5 minutes on low heat until everything is well cooked.
- Serve together, garnishing with coriander leaves.
- Enjoy!