Dahl (also spelt dal and dhal) is an Asian recipe made with pulses (ie beans and lentils) and seasoned with various spices. This dahl recipe is simple, quick and satisfying using red lentils as the pulse for this recipe.
Ingredients to Make This Dish:
To make this red lentil dahl you will need the following:
Red lentils (dried)
Oil
Onion
Garlic
Red bell pepper
Zucchini (courgette)
Vegetable broth (or you can make up the same volume of vegetable stock)
Chopped tomatoes
Baby spinach
Turmeric
Cumin
Garam masala
Soy sauce (or tamari)
Lime
Fresh ginger
Cilantro (coriander) leaves
How to Make This Red Lentil Dahl:
To start you prepare the veg by peeling and chopping the onion and peeling and finely chopping the garlic. Then de-seed and cut the bell pepper into pieces. Top and tail the zucchini and cut into pieces. You can remove the skin if you wish but I usually leave it on.
Then add the oil to a pot on the stovetop on a medium/high heat. Then add the onion and sáute the onion for a few minutes until it becomes fragrant and soft. Then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the vegetable broth (or prepare the vegetable stock) and add to the pot. Add the chopped tomatoes.
Rinse the lentils under cold water then add to the pot. Add the bell pepper and zucchini.
Add the turmeric, cumin and garam masala to the pot. Then add the juice from the lime along with the soy sauce (or tamari). Peel the ginger and grate into the pot.
Stir the pot and bring everything to the boil. Turn down to a gentle simmer and cook for around 20 minutes. Stir regularly as lentils have a habit of sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Then add the baby spinach leaves and cook until the leaves have fully wilted. (usually about 3-4 minutes).
Take the pot off the heat and the dahl is ready to serve. I usually take it with rice but you can also eat it on its own or with naan bread or some other side dishes.
Garnish the dahl with some cilantro leaves.
Dahl Baht in Nepal
When trekking in Nepal with my wife (then fiance) Violine, the most popular meal in the villages we stopped to eat in along the way was a meal called dahl bhat.
This is a combination of dahl and loads of rice and was often served with some other additions such as cooked greens, pickled vegetables and poppadoms.
It tasted amazing after a few hours of walking up mountains (although being honest, so would any form of sustenance) It was very satisfying and you could still get moving again shortly after for another few hours on the trails.
The version of the dahl is Nepal was more soup like in texture compared to this version, which is thicker.
This is a very comforting meal, and works well with rice. It is also really well suited for batch cooking and prepping your meals in advance, and still tastes great after a few days in the fridge or a month in the freezer. Just heat (or de-frost and heat) and serve.
A Perfect Dish for Batch Cooking
I find that red lentil dahl is a great dish for batch cooking. This recipe already makes 8 portions so you can freeze extra portions, or keep them in the fridge for a nutritious meal without the cooking. Dahl freezes well.
Lentils a very nutritious food. They are high in protein and fibre, low in calories, low in fat, with zero cholesterol. You can read more about their health benefits here.
Fun fact for the lentil geeks out there. Red lentils are already split so cook pretty fast if you’re in a hurry (and who isn’t these days). The longer you cook them the more they disintegrate into a soup like texture.
Other Fit Dish Dishes to Try
If you love red lentils, you should also try a fantastic chickpea and red lentil soup. It’s awesome.
For other similar options you may also like to try Heart Healthy Potato and Lentil Dahl or Creamy Red Lentil Curry with Coconut Milk
Easy Red Lentil Dahl
Ingredients
Method
- Add the oil to a pot and bring to a medium/high heat on the stovetop. Add the onions and sauté for a few minutes until they get soft and see through. Then add the chopped garlic and cook for another minute or two.
- Add the vegetable broth (or prepared vegetable stock) along with the chopped tomatoes.
- Rinse the lentils in a sieve under the cold water tap
- Add the lentils, the bell pepper, and the zucchini to the pot.
- Peel the ginger and grate into the pot. Add the turmeric, cumin, garam masala, tamari and finely chopped chili (include the seeds if you like extra heat). Stir everything together.
- Once everything starts to boil, bring down to a gentle simmer for around 20 minutes. Stir regularly to avoid sticking.
- Add spinach and cook for another few minutes until the spinach is fully wilted.
- Add chopped fresh cilantro leaves and serve with cooked rice.
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