This delicious red lentil stew is bursting with Indian 🇮🇳 spices, like flavors happy 💃 dancing on your tastebuds. It is an easy, vegan-friendly, gluten-free dish you can make in 30 minutes.
Total carbs in red lentils masoor dal 28g
I love dal. Dal is full of flavor yet quick, easy and economical to make at home. It is an excellent vegan source of protein. Red lentil dal has a smooth, creamy texture and is mildly spiced.
What is dal?
Dal (also spelled daal or dahl or dhal) is an easy dish made of either lentils, peas, kidney beans or mung beans, which don't need to be soaked prior to cooking. There are many variations on dal. This recipe uses red lentils.
Ingredients you’ll need
Red lentils
Yes, lentils are high in carbs, but these are the good carbs. They are packed with fiber and protein making them an excellent carb choice. Lentils don't need much cook time. They are ready to eat after simmering for about 20 minutes.
For legumes, lentils are second highest in protein next to soybeans with 48 grams of protein per cup.
spices
Spices used in dal vary by season and region. If you don't have or don't like some or all of these spices, feel free to improvise. The main thing is to flavor your lentils so that they are tasty to you.
The spices used in this recipe are cumin seeds, mustard seeds, black pepper, turmeric, garam masala, onion, ginger, chilis and cilantro.
These days you can get almost any ingredient in a supermarket or online. I was able to find garam masala at my local American supermarket in the Indian subsection of the ethnic foods aisle, but if you have a limited selection of spices and can’t find garam masala, just use what you have.
tomato (optional)
I add tomato because I like the little bit of color and acid that it adds to the dish.
Equipment you'll need
A large pot with a lid.
How to make dal
Dal recipes are meant to be simple to prepare. The basic dish consists of tempered spices and simmered lentils. Tempered spices are called "tadka", in Indian cuisine, which just means "tempering." Tempering in this context means heating spices in hot oil (often ghee) to bring out the flavors.
You can prepare dal one of two ways:
- Temper the spices first, add lentils and water and simmer together.
- Simmer the lentils. While the lentils simmer, temper the spices in hot oil in a separate pan, and finish the lentils by pouring the spices and oil over them.
I use the first method in this recipe because I prefer one-pot recipes, less to cleanup. 😉
Serving suggestions
Eat this with a side of vegetables such as saag paneer or roasted cauliflower to keep it under 30 grams of carbs per meal.
You can serve a half portion (about a ½ cup) of dal over rice or eat it with flatbread, such as naan. A ⅓ of a piece of naan is 15g of carbs. A ⅓ of a cup of rice is 15g of carbs. Watch your portions.
Frequently asked questions
Lentils are a type of legume like beans, peas and peanuts. They are second highest in protein next to soybeans. They cook quickly and don't need pre-soaking.
Yes, but a single ⅓ of a cup serving of boiled lentils is under 15 grams of carbs so you can eat lentils and stick to a carb budget at the same time. Dal carbs are good carbs.
Red lentils (Masoor dal)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
This delicious red lentil stew is bursting with Indian 🇮🇳 spices, like flavors happy 💃 dancing on your tastebuds. It is an easy, vegan-friendly, gluten-free dish you can make in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
For the dal
- 1 cup dry red lentils (sold as “masoor dal” in Indian markets)
- 2 ½ cups water
For the tadka
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil (or ghee or your favorite oil)
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- 1 red chili pepper, sliced into rounds (optional)
- 1 green chili pepper sliced into rounds (optional)
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
a handful of fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Rinse lentils under cold running water and drain. Pick over to remove any debris.
- In a large pot, toast spices over medium heat until aromatic, about 2 minutes.
- Add coconut oil and stir-fry onion, ginger and chilis over medium heat for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and stir-fry on medium heat for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Add lentils and water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to low, cover with lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
- If the lentils are lumpy or too thick, add water until it becomes smooth and creamy. Add salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Serve in individual serving bowls and top with fresh cilantro leaves.
Notes
Add enough water to get the consistency that you like. I like dal to be more fluid like a gravy.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Indian
If you want lessons on how to cook Indian food or plant-powered cooking in general, Chef Rama (who competed on Food Network's Chopped PB &J Episode) and Chef Anita are the experts! They teach virtual cooking classes over at Wannabeechef.
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