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§03 · Dinner · Indian · red-lentil-dal

Revised Jul 2026 · 3 revisions

Red Lentil Dal

Creamy and warming. Coconut and red lentils melt into something that tastes slow-cooked.

Illustration of Red Lentil Dal
Hands-on 18 min Total 45 min Serves4 Ingredients14 Cost / Serv.$1.30 Calories517 StatusStarter pick
Servings
4 servings
×1

Ingredients

Everything here is already in your pantry.

Ran low on something?

What swaps in
Red Lentils
Yellow split lentils collapse the same way; slightly longer
Red Onion
Yellow onion milder cooked, none of the anthocyaninsWhite onion sharper raw, none of the anthocyaninsShallots sweeter and finer; about 3 small per onion
Garlic
Fresh cloves 1 tsp jarred = 1 clove
Diced Tomatoes
Crushed tomatoes smoother, no crushing neededWhole peeled tomatoes crush by hand going inFire-roasted diced tomatoes smokier, 1:1
Canned Coconut Milk
Coconut cream richer; thin with waterHeavy cream 1:1, the closest dairy match for fat and bodyWhole milk about a quarter the fat, so sauces stay thinLight coconut milk thinner, so sauces won't body up the same
Frozen Spinach
Fresh spinach roughly 4:1 by volume; a 1 lb bag wilts down to a 10 oz blockFrozen kale chewier, needs longer
Ground Ginger
Fresh grated ginger about 1 tbsp per ½ tsp; brighter and hotter, not the same warmth
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Butter 1:1 for cooking; browns at a lower temperature, and it sets solid once coldRefined olive oil higher smoke point, less flavorAvocado oil neutral, very high smoke point
Bottled Lime Juice
Fresh limes 1 lime ≈ 2 tbsp
Sea Salt
Kosher salt coarser, so more by volume; the ratio depends on the brandTable salt finer and denser; use about ¾ by volume
Brown Rice
Short-grain brown rice stickier; same ~45 minutesMedium-grain brown rice between the twoWhite rice about 20 minutes instead of 45, with less fibre

No close substitute for Cumin, Turmeric, and Ground Coriander.

What you'll need

Method

  1. Start the 1 cup185 g brown rice first: simmer it in 2 cups water, covered, until tender, about 40 minutes. It’s the long pole, so get it going before anything else and the rest comes together while it cooks.
  2. Heat the 1 tbsp14 g olive oil in a pot over medium. Add the 1110 g diced onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the 3 tsp15 g garlic, 1 tsp1.6 g ginger, 1 tsp2.1 g cumin, 1 tsp2.8 g turmeric, and 1 tsp1.8 g coriander and stir until the spices darken a shade and the pan smells toasty, about a minute. This quick bloom in hot oil is the tadka — it’s what gives dal its depth, so don’t rush it.
  3. Add the 1 cup192 g red lentils, rinsed, 1 can (14.5 oz)411 g diced tomatoes, and 2 cups water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 15 minutes until the lentils collapse.
  4. Stir in the ½ can (13.5 oz)200 g coconut milk and 1 cup85 g frozen spinach. Simmer 5 more minutes. Take the pot off the heat, stir in the 1 tbsp15 g lime juice, and season with salt, to taste.
  5. Serve over the rice.

Kids: mash the lentils fully smooth and serve over plenty of rice — the coconut milk keeps it mild and creamy, and nothing needs picking out.

Dietary

  • Gluten free
  • Tree nut free
  • Peanut free
  • Soy free
  • Sesame free

Nutrition

Per serving · makes 4
Calories517Protein18gCarbs77gFiber10gSugars4.4gFat17gSaturated Fat10gSodium150mg
Vitamins & minerals
Iron7.8mgCalcium121mgPotassium909mgMagnesium141mgZinc3.4mgFolate160µgVitamin C19mgVitamin B120.0µgOmega-3 (ALA)0.03g
Estimated from pantry data, excluding Sea Salt (to taste).
Change log · 3 revisions
  1. 24 Jul 2026

    HeardCreamy and mellow, but a little flat by the last few bites — the coconut richness had nothing to cut it, and it wanted a squeeze of acid at the table.

    ChangedAdded a small off-heat squeeze of lime to finish. Lime rather than vinegar keeps the dal in its Indian register, and a bright coconut dal still reads distinct from the lemon-forward lentil soup.

  2. 24 Jul 2026

    HeardThe rice was assumed already cooked, and 'on the table in half an hour' didn't count the time it takes.

    ChangedAdded a first step to start the brown rice (about 40 minutes, the long pole here), corrected the total time to a realistic 45 minutes, and removed the half-hour claim from the summary.

  3. 14 Jul 2026

    FoundEvery top red-lentil dal pairs garlic with ginger and blooms the spices into a real tadka; ours had no ginger and rushed the bloom to thirty seconds.

    ChangedAdded ground ginger to the aromatics and slowed the bloom into a proper toasted tadka, keeping the dish coconut-creamy and mild rather than chasing the corpus heat.

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