Things are a little tight this month so I made a resolution to use up all (or a lot) of the food that I have in my pantry and freezer. Sure, I should always be doing this anyway but exciting recipes always seem to entice me into trying (and buying) new things.
Anyway, I have two huge bags of lentils (a.k.a. “dal”) sitting in my pantry that have been waiting for their day in the spot light. I saw this recipe for Dal Nirvana over on Steamy Kitchen and it looked so scrumptious that I had to try it. The best part is that the ingredient list is mostly items that I already have. Indian recipes are tricky because they usually include ingredients that I don’t have nor have I ever heard of! This recipe, on the other hand is different. It’s simple, it’s delicious, it’s super filling and I’d happily eat it every day.
I served the Dal with some simple, steamed jasmine rice and homemade naan (Indian flat bread). The recipe for the naan will be up in a couple of days… it turned out AMAZING!
Dal Nirvana
Dal Nirvana
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1 cup dry brown lentils ($0.31)
- 1 15oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes ($1.49)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.12)
- 1 inch fresh ginger ($0.07)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.03)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.17)
- salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk or cream ($0.75)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.37)
Instructions
- Place the lentils in a pot and cover with a couple inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil until tender (about ten minutes). Drain the lentils in a colander.
- While the lentils are boiling, mince the garlic and peel and grate the ginger (use a small cheese grater). Return the drained lentils to the pot (medium heat) and add the butter, ginger, garlic, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper.
- Add the can of tomatoes and one cup of water. Stir it all together, bring it to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for half an hour. The mixture should be soft and thick after a half hour. If it is not, continue to simmer, adding more water if it dries out. You want the end product to be thick, not watery.
- Stir in the evaporated milk or cream and garnish with fresh, chopped cilantro. Serve over rice or with naan bread for dipping!
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
I have this huge bag of brown lentils so that is what I used. Black lentils were used in the Steamy Kitchen recipe so feel free to experiment.
Place the lentils in a pot and cover with two inches of water.
Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Boil until the lentils are soft (about ten minutes).
While the lentils boil, mince the garlic, peel and grate the ginger.
Drain the lentils then return them to the pot (reduce heat to medium).
Add the butter, garlic, ginger, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir it on up.
Add the can of crushed or diced tomatoes, one cup of water and stir it all together.
Simmer the mixture with a lid on until it is cooked down to a soft, thick mixture.
Add the evaporated milk or cream…
Stir it up, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve it up!
NOTE: I’m sure you could make this recipe for less money than I did. I happened to be near a Whole Foods yesterday so I stopped there to pick up the few ingredients that I didn’t have (cilantro, ginger, cream and diced tomatoes). I may have paid a little more than usual but this recipe is so simple and inexpensive that it was still well worth it.
The Steamy Kitchen version says it serves four but I portioned out my lunches and got six servings out of the pot. Of course, I was serving the Dal with rice and naan which bulked up the meal as a whole.
I used 2% greek yogurt and stirred it in after I removed the dal from the heat. It was wonderful and the recipe has moved into my regular rotation.
I think I’ll try to veganise this using my Earth Balance butter and Silk Soy Creamer….looks good!
Hi! I just wanted to say that I have now made several of your recipes, and they are all good. I’ve made this three times for my family, and we — including my two-year- old — love it. I think it’s something about the butter… :)
I actually tried it with nonfat Greek yogurt. I can’t tell if the yogurt kinda curdled or cooked! lol But either way it tasted great!
I’ll make this in the next couple days with the yogurt and let y’all know how it is.
Hi there!
A friend of mine in PA, just sent me the link for your site this morning(we are in Ontario, Canada), and I have to say I am delighted to have already made the Dal Nirvana. Plus purchasing the ingredients for the raspberry oat bars(for co-workers) and the English muffins(but I will have to use a gluten free flour blend, but I can just tell they will still be fantastic)
So first off, your site is fantastic and I am already planning next weeks grocery shop around its recipes. Second, the above recipe was amazing, it needs no adjustments, it is subtle, flavourful and comforting to smell and eat. It felt like an indulgence ;-)
I have to eat gluten free for health reasons, which was another reason this was such an appealing recipe.
Please dear, keep up the good work, keep creating, and my only wish is that I had found this site sooner.
Hmm, using yogurt would be interesting! I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure but it sounds like it would add a nice tang (and I love tang)! I would use greek, full fat. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
This was delicious! I made it last week and it turned out great. One question though – I had to buy cream just for this recipe and ended up with a whole lot left over. Would I be able to substitute yogurt instead? And if so, what kind should I use (Greek or regular) and how much? Thank you!
Well, I store my garlic just sitting on the counter top at room temperature. Leave any extra papery peel on the bulb. I find that it stays fresh for about two weeks, during which time I’ll use at least 2/3 of it. Since one bulb only costs me about 25 cents, if I end up having to throw some away, I really don’t lose much.
You can store ginger in the freezer although I usually don’t end up resorting to that. At the store you can break off a piece as big or small as you’d like so I usually just get a knob about 1 inch long. That usually only costs me about 15 to 30 cents so again, if I don’t use the whole piece I only lose a few cents.
Hope that helped!
I never knew you could break off a piece of ginger! I never buy ginger because I can never fathom using much before it goes bad. Mind blown. Thank you!!
Beth, I have a question. How do you store left over ginger and garlic?
I’ve never bought ginger before, so this will be my first time and I have no idea how to store it once I’ve used some of it.
And with garlic, I never know the best way to store a bulb once I’ve opened it up and taken out some of it’s cloves.
Would love your input.
I make a recipe similar to this at least once per month, it’s an excellent meal for very little outlay =)
But one thing I must stress: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS check your lentils for any small stones first! It’s not uncommon for small stones and/or grit to find their way into dried lentils, so unless you have a crush on your dentist it’s wise to take a few seconds to inspect your lentils before you begin.
Sam (Glasgow)
I made this for my vegetarian fiancé today, and she LOVED it! I took saikat’s advice and used less garlic, but added cumin, coriander and curry for a more ‘authentic’ flavor. Luckily for me, it turned out well. I might try soaking the lentils next time, but overall a great recipe-keep up the great work!
Made this today and it came out great. Much better than a recipe I was using from a vegetarian cookbook. Thanks so much for posting this and keep up the awesome work on this blog!
I am making this today lady. I can’t wait!
That’s not a silly question! I was planning on including a tid bit about that but forgot… I used half and half because I had some for my coffee anyway. You can use any kind of cream, the heavier you use, the creamier the dish will be :)