Easy Red Lentil Dahl! The soft, velvety red lentils weave into a rich, aromatic broth that’s both comforting and nourishing, making it an ideal weeknight staple.
This Easy Red Lentil Dahl is a comforting and delicious Indian-inspired dish that makes everyday dinners feel like a warm hug. Packed with warming Indian spices like cumin, coriander, curry, and a gentle chili kiss, this red lentil dal comes together in a snap and delivers hearty, nutritious goodness in every spoonful. Whether you’re cooking for a busy family or feeding yourself after a long day, this easy red lentil dahl promises a satisfying, protein-packed meal that’s budget-friendly and naturally gluten-free.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
This dish is comfort food in a bowl! If you love Indian flavors, you’ll fall hard for this easy, simple dahl. It’s a no-fuss, pantry-friendly miracle, delivering warming spices, silky lentils, and a kiss of spice that lingers on the palate.
Easy to make, and full of deliciousness, this red lentil dahl is perfect for a cozy night in or a meal-prep winner for the week ahead. You gotta give this one a try!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Easy Red Lentil Dahl is an easy and delicious Indian dish perfect comfort food for everyday dinner meals. Filled with warming Indian spices, this dish is sure to be a nutritious and satisfying meal.
- Consistency: This Indian dahl has a semi porridge-like consistency. Often times after it has sat in the refrigerator (if there are leftovers), it will thicken up even more. You can add some water to loosen it up back into a porridge-like consistency when reheated.
- Rinse the Red Lentils: Be sure to rinse the red lentils really well, then tend to foam up while rinsing, continue to rinse until the water runs clear.
- Amount of Water: If the lentils are still not tender and all the liquid has been absorbed, feel free to additional water and allow to continue to cook.
- Curry Powders: All curry powders are not the same. There are tons of curry options and blends. Use your favorite curry blend. Each blend tends to accent different spices within the blend. We have found that some blends are heavy with turmeric and tend to be slightly acidic on the backend of the palate and others may contain a lot of heat. Feel free to adjust spices based upon the curry blend selected.
- Regular Chili Powder: Feel free to use your favorite chili powder, just be sure to select a mild one and not one that has a lot of heat to it. If you are using an Indian red chili powder, be sure to cut way back on the amount used as it may be overly spicy. We used a regular chili powder. If you want to add Indian Red Chili Powder, feel free to do so; however, do not replace the regular chili powder with an equal amount of Indian Red Chili powder. Indian Red Chili powder can be very spicy and pack a wallop of heat.
- Spices: Feel free to ramp up the spices if you wish to suit your own personal preference.
- Amount of Sea Salt: Our family was completely divided over the amount of sea salt needed to properly flavor this soup. For most palates, we felt 1 ¼ teaspoons worked well.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
This Red Lentil Dahl freezes well.
Pantry Products:
- Red Lentils: We used Clear Creek Red Lentils. They are delicious. Feel free to use your favorite red lentils.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large stock pot with a lid
If you try this comforting dahl, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
Print
Easy Red Lentil Dahl
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 40 Minutes
- Total Time: 55 Minutes
- Yield: 5 ½ Cups 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Easy Red Lentil Dahl is a comforting and delicious Indian-inspired dish that makes everyday dinners feel like a warm hug.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups red lentils, rinsed well
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 4 cups water
- 1 – [ 14.5 oz. ] can petite diced tomatoes
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin (+/-)
- 1 ½ teaspoons curry powder (+/-)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons garam masala (+/-)
- ½ teaspoon regular chili powder (+/-)
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard powder (+/-)
- ¼ teaspoon coriander (+/-)
- ¼ to 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt (+/-)
- Pinch to 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (+/-)
Other Ingredients:
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Optional Ingredients:
- Sprinkle chopped fresh cilantro
Serving Ideas:
- Steamed rice
- Naan, pita, or flatbread
- Simple salad
Instructions
- Rinse the red lentils really with cold water for several minutes until the water is clear and no longer foamy, set aside.
- Place all the Spice/Herb Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk well, set aside.
- In a large stockpot, sauté the diced onions over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes until they start to become tender. Add a splash of water to prevent sticking/burning if needed.
- Reduce the heat and add the minced garlic and minced ginger, sauté for 1 minute, then add the Spice/Herb Mix and sauté for 30 seconds until the spices become fragrant.
- Then add all the remaining Base Ingredients (including the rinsed red lentils). Stir well, increase the heat and bring to a rolling boil, add the baking soda, stir well, then reduce the heat to a low-percolating boil. Boil uncovered for 15 to 30 minutes or until lentils are very soft, stirring occasionally.
- Once the dahl has thickened and has become creamy and consists of a porridge-like consistency, the lentils are perfectly tender, and all (or nearly all) the liquids have been absorbed into the lentils, then add the lemon juice, then simmer for several minutes. Then remove the pot from the stove, cover with a tight-fitting lid and allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
- After 10 minutes, stir well, then serve with naan (or flatbread) and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Serving: 4 (makes 5 ½ cups)
This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.
Leave a Reply