Red Lentil Dal is my favorite Indian dish. It’s a great recipe for beginners - whether you’re new to Indian food or cooking in general. It uses quite a bit of spices, but these same spices are used over and over again in Indian cuisine, so they are well worth the small investment. I’m a huge fan of Rani spices. I created the Red Lentil Dal recipe several months ago and it took over the vegan blog world by storm! (Click the link to see the original post for rave reviews). I saw a giant bag of red lentils for only $2 at a local Middle Eastern grocery store and couldn’t resist. I’ll be having Dal for lunch all week 
Aside from its tastiness, this dish only gets more flavorful over time so you’ll *love* leftovers and if you already have the spices, its an incredibly cheap meal!
(Red Lentil Dal, Spiced Brown Rice, Saag)
Red Lentil Dal
1/2 cup red lentils
2 cups low sodium veg broth
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1 chopped tomato with juices*
1/2 can tomato paste (two heaping spoonfuls)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp ground ginger
dash cayenne
1 tbsp coriander
2 tsp garam masala
* you can omit the tomato or if they are out of season, you can use 1/4 cup tomato sauce or 2 peeled, canned tomatoes
Directions:
1. saute onions & garlic in 1/4 cup water until translucent
2. add spices except masala and coriander and cook 2 minutes (add more water if necessary)
3. add lentils, broth, tomato paste, tomatoes and coriander
4. bring to a boil on high
5. cover and reduce to low
6. cook 15 minutes or until lentils are done
7. add masala and stir
8. cover and leave alone 3 minutes
9. salt/pepper to taste
This Dal Recipe was featured on iVillage!
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Thanks for the tip about the Rani spices. Very Cool.
Yum! Ive always been scared of making Dal, but it sounds like I should try it
YUM! I love Indian Food. Too bad I just ran out of red lentils or I would make this ASAP!
That looks totally perfect, I love Indian food!
YUM!!
I had lentils for dinner tonight
I was just looking for a red lentil dal recipe, this is perfect!!! thank you!!!
I have to remember to share a recipe my husband made last night–a dal with coconut, cashews, almonds, raisins and cinnamon. We love a good dal!
Yum! Looks delicious!
I’m trippin! I just put this on my menu planner for the week and I’d not found the recipe yet - YYEEAAHH!
that looks soo delicious!
:)
just wanted to say that thanks to your ecookbook I had lots of awesommme thanksgiving food
Your dal is so good, Lindsay. I don’t think I told you before, but last time I made some and took it to work for lunch, several people came to find out what I was eating. One lady KEPT coming back. She said Did you make it or buy it? The last thing she said was It smells so good it’s making my mouth water. I think she wanted me to give her some, but I didn’t!
Hi,
The meal looks and reads delicious - unlike the Indian restaurants that use so much oil!!! Yuck!
How do you make the “Spiced Brown Rice?”
Thanks,
Carol
Diann, BEST story EVER!
Carol, cook brown rice in veg broth instead of water. After its done cooking, salt to taste and add about 1 tsp of garam masala per 1 cup cooked rice (or to taste). You can also add cayenne as desired if you’d like a little heat.
I’m seeing gorgeous indian food on lots of blogs today and this looks yummy too.
I AM new to Indian food cooking. Thanks for the recipe!
I love indian food and this is a perfect recipe to try out!!!!
Indian food is great, my BF makes it for me. I’ve tried a few times myself I’m just not so good at it. One thing he taught me though is that when using whole seed spices IE; coriander, cumin and mustard seeds. one must roast them in at least a small amount of oil until their aroma comes out. Otherwise you just don’t get the flavor. use any high heat oil you like. soybean, coconut, or peanut or your favorite. the small amount needed doesn’t make the food greasy and is worth the flavor you get.