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’m enjoying the dal right now. Thank you for an incredible collection of delicious, but budget conscious recipes. Your website is the first place I go when menu planning for the week. I also appreciate the variety.
Melly – I used 3/4 c of green lentils, and 1/4 c of red lentils. The red mostly disintegrate and become part of the sauce.
I also used coconut milk instead of cream, and it turned out delicious.
Thanks for a great recipe!
Really great! Even my husband (who doesn’t consider it a meal if there’s not any meat involved) thought this was a very hearty and satisfying dinner. Thank you :)
I was soooo eager to try this! As per usual, I went grocery shopping without a list and forgot to buy canned tomatoes. Not to be detered, here’s what I did: I subbed the tomatoes for tomato paste diluted in broth (1 cup). I also added a big minced onion (wanted some texture), and changed the spice as I didn’t have fresh ginger nor chili and my garlic was looking very stale: 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp tumeric, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon of mustard powder, 1/2 ground coriander/cilantro, 1/2 ground clove.
The result is delightful, but in retrospect, I wish I had used less tomato paste, cuz my dahl came up kinda sweet.
ALL THAT TO SAY: I really like this website, it inspires me to cook more, for less so i can spend more money on other stuff like books :)
Delish!! Thanks for the recipe. I cut the cayenne in half and used roasted tomatoes.
YUM! I added the cumin as suggested (how can i pass up suggestions on an indian dish by an indian cook?) and, as i didn’t have cream or yogurt and couldn’t live another day without trying this recipe, stirred in sour cream at the end. It was great! The lentils took a bit longer than i expected but perhaps are old-ish.
I cooked this up last night along with your yellow jasmine rice & made up work lunches – it is absolutely delicious! Was also really easy to make, first time preparing dried lentils for me so was very satisfied!
I made this last night and it was so delicious.
For those wanting to substitute for the cream, you can use coconut milk.
This was so good! The only thing I did differently was use greek yogurt instead of cream, and use less ginger because I’m not a fa of ginger. I also used 2 cups lentils because “1 seems so small, I’m not sure if it would feed all of us!” Um, 1 cup would of been plenty LOL. I have so many lentils leftover for lunch now, good thing I loved it! Even my 2 year old liked it.
Made this a while ago, minus the cream (I didn’t have any) and ate it with Beth’s yellow rice. Fantastic! It also freezes really well, which is great, since this recipe made quite a bit of food for someone who lives alone. Thanks for the recipe.
made this the other night and it was amazing!! I doubled the recipe (’cause if I’m gonna go to all the work, why not?) and was planning on freezing half, but only one small container ever made it to the freezer :) love how versatile it is too. I added half an onion and two grated carrots to it and used greek yogurt instead of cream. I’m still dreaming of it. might have to make more this weekend!
I get sooo excited whenever I visit ur blog =) ahaha
I bookmark pretty much all ur recipes to make in future =) I’ve made a lot of them nd LOVED THEM :D
thanks :)
Delish recipe…I’ve made it a few times now and find that it freezes really well, too.
If you are trying to make it vegan or eliminate the cream I would suggest trying cashew cream. It is a recipe from the cookbook Conscious Cook. You rinse and soak 2 cups of raw cashews overnight, drain the water, put them in a blender and add enough water to cover them, blend, and it stores in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.