This Red Lentil Dal recipe makes the perfect plant-based Indian meal! Rich, fragrant, and packed with protein for a meal you can feel good about.
Guys, we made it. This red lentil dal is the sixth Indian recipe in a row I’ve shared here on the blog.
If you’re like me, you’ve been loving these recipes and hopefully adding them into your upcoming meal plans.
However, if you’re not a fan of Indian food (howwww???), please accept my apologies for the recent bombardment of deliciously spiced dishes and know that we will soon return to regular (aka, varied) programming.
Okay, now about this recipe.
There are many ways to spell dal and so I’m fine if you use any of these varieties: red lentil dal recipe, red lentil dhal recipe, red lentil daal recipe, or red lentil dahl recipe.
Dal (however you want to spell it) is one of my very favorite Indian dishes because of how quickly it is made.
A red lentil dal cooks really fast, so this whole red lentil recipe is done in 30 minutes start-to-finish.
Red lentils look more orange than red after the cook, especially with the addition of turmeric.
I use Bob’s Red Mill Red Lentils which are grown in the Pacific Northwest.
There are a few different ways that people make dal, but my favorite way to is temper the spices and aromatics in oil.
I used to make my red lentil dal by just chucking everything in the same pot, and while it’s still tasty that way, it doesn’t come close to flavor of the tempered version.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry. Just read on.
Basically, all you have to do is put some lentils and water in a pot, then fry the rest of the ingredients in oil while the lentils cook.
The hot oil helps release all of the wonderful fragrance and flavor from the garlic, ginger, and spices (tempering!).
The tempered oil and aromatics are then added to the lentils at the last minute (along with some lemon juice) so the flavor stays bright and fresh.
How to Make Dahl
Here is the process to make this Indian Red Lentil Dahl. For the exact amount of each ingredient, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
First, assemble this group of wonderfully colorful ingredients.
Place the rinsed lentils in a large saucepan along with 3 cups of room temperature water. Turn the heat to medium and allow the lentils to cook for 20 minutes.
Add the turmeric, cardamom, paprika, salt, and tomato to the pan.
Cook until the tomato begins to fall apart, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Discard the cinnamon stick.
Once the lentils are cooked, drain off any excess water that is on top of the lentils, but do not drain off all the water.
Stir the spiced onion mixture into the pot of lentils.
Add the lemon juice and stir well.
Taste and add salt as needed. If it is too dry, then add some water. If it is too wet, then cook on low until it thickens to your liking.
Garnish with cilantro.
Serve with basmati rice and naan.
If you have any leftovers, save them in the freezer.
I store mine right next to my frozen naan from Trader Joe’s – perfect for an impromptu Indian lunch!
I’d love for you to keep in touch! You can enter your email address below to get new recipes sent to you.
Here’s the Recipe!
Indian Red Lentil Dal
How to make Indian Dal. This Red Lentil Dal recipe makes the perfect plant-based Indian meal! Rich, fragrant, and packed with protein for a meal you can feel good about.
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 3 cups room temperature water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 green chili pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced (serrano for spicy, jalapeno for more mild)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely minced ginger root
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- Juice of one half a lemon
- Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Place the rinsed lentils in a large saucepan along with 3 cups of room temperature water. Turn the heat to medium and allow the lentils to cook for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet set over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and cinnamon stick; cook for 60 to 90 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the onion, green chili pepper, garlic, and ginger; cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions are turning translucent.
- Add the turmeric, cardamom, paprika, salt, and tomato to the pan. Cook until the tomato begins to fall apart, about 2 to 3 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick.
- Once the lentils are cooked, drain off any excess water that is on top of the lentils, but do not drain off all the water. Stir the spiced onion mixture into the pot of lentils. Add the lemon juice and stir well. Taste and add salt as needed. If it is too dry, then add some water. If it is too wet, then cook on low until it thickens to your liking.
- Garnish with cilantro; serve with basmati rice and naan.
Nutrition
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1/4th the recipeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 168|Total Fat: 4g|Saturated Fat: 0g|Trans Fat: 0g|Unsaturated Fat: 3g|Cholesterol: 0mg|Sodium: 557mg|Carbohydrates: 29g|Fiber: 6g|Sugar: 13g|Protein: 6g|
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
The wonderful people over at Bob’s Red Mill were kind enough to sponsor this dal recipe. I love supporting local companies!
November 14, 2016 | Last Updated on April 23, 2021 by Linda
Amazing amazing!!! So delicious and yummy! I added a bit more cardamon, paprika and salt and a bit of chilli powder and black pepper and that really made it! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!
Really delicious recipe. Just wondering how you might scale this recipe up if I wanted to have a bunch of leftovers? What would the measurements for the aromatics look like if I wanted to cook 4 cups of lentils? I’m guessing we are not looking at 16 cloves of garlic?
Hi Mark,
Yes, if you want to 4 times the recipe, I would 4 times all of the ingredients. If you want to lower the garlic you certainly can do that, but this recipe makes a big batch without increasing it 4 times.
Let us know how it turns out.
– Linda
Hi community, recipe appealed for healthy content and I love all Indian flavours, but I found this recipe too bland. I added stock and spinach. Thanks for sharing Wanderlustkitchen. It might be that Dahl is not very rich but that was the recipe I was looking for so it could be my mistake.
This was amazing! I followed the recipe exactly, I will definitely make this again
Hi Ann,
Yes, it is so good! So glad you loved it!
– Linda
I kind of followed the recipe but upped the spices and presoaked my lentils so just added them to my toasted mix and added some water and the lentils straight in there, it was beautiful, had some coconut naans, thanks for the recipe!
Hi,
Your recipes look very delicious. I was given 4 bags of lentils and would love to make this recipe. However, they are not Red Lentils.
Do you know what spices I could add to make them taste like Red Lentils? Thanks in advance.
Hi Maggie,
I would stick with red lentils for this recipe. However, if you have brown lentils, I have many other recipes that you might like. Check these out, almost all use brown lentils: https://thewanderlustkitchen.com/?s=lentils
Here is one that uses green lentils if that is what you have: https://thewanderlustkitchen.com/french-lentil-salad-with-walnuts-and-goat-cheese/
– Linda
can I add a bit of coconut milk to this? I have some leftover and would like to use it up. if so, when is the best time to add it?
Hi Susan,
Yes, give it a try. I would add it in step 5 when the lentils are added. You might add a little less of the water that the lentils are in to allow for the coconut milk. Let us know how you like it.
– Linda
Just made this (literally). It is so delish! One suggestion – can you indicate that the measurements are found at the recipe below at the beginning. I estimated the ingredients based on your pics (a little frustrating but the recipe looked so good I did not want to find a new one). Only to find the ingredients at the end (and the instructions repeated. All in all, it worked out, I just keep tasting through out.
Thanks so much, looking forward to making again!
Hi Rochelle,
Thank you for the advice, I have added the note.
– Linda
Looks delicious, am going to cook it for lunch today. Can i freeze any leftovers?
Thanks
HI Jo,
Yes, you can freeze the leftovers. Let the dish come to room temperature before you freeze it. I recommend using freezer safe plastic bags and freeze serving sizes, so you can defrost and eat just the amount you need. This dish will taste best when defrosted slowly, so defrost overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat it. Add a little more liquid if needed if it looks like it is drying out too much when you reheat it.
– Linda
really really good. first time cooking Indian Dal and will defiantly make again, wanted a bit more spice so i added 1/2 tsp red curry powder and it seems to make it even better. served with naan + greek yogurt
Hi Pam,
Thanks for sharing the love and your spicy change.
– Linda