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.
Hi Beth, This recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it tonight. I noticed in the picture of the ginger and garlic that there was a peeler. Did you use this for the ginger? Have you ever tried to peel ginger with a tea spoon edge? It is a super easy an effective way to remove the skin and very little of the ‘good stuff’. Just thought I’d share. Thanks for sharing all of your great recipes! I had the golden rice bowls last night and they are such a quick and easy dinner. I use my rice maker and it is even easier!
Thanks again!!
Erin
Yep, someone clued me in to the spoon trick a while back! Super convenient, especially if you don’t have a peeler. I tend to think the peeler is faster and easier, so I still do that :) I often mention the spoon trick in posts, though, for those who want to try it.
I wanted to make this but I’m counting my calories this month… so I did the research. One serving (w/ heavy cream) is about 175 calories, 18g carbs, 11g fat, 8g protein. Not nearly as bad-for-you as I thought! :) I’m going to give it a try. Love dal. Thank you!
Katie – I’m not sure if this one could be modified to work in the slow cooker (at least not without me doing a lot of experimentation) because of the fact that the lentils have to be cooked in water first and then the water is discarded.
How could I modify this so I could use my crockpot? I am sure it is probably an obvious fix but I am crock pot newbie.. please help! I really want to try this recipe out :)
This is DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! Thanks so much!!! added the sauted onions as someone suggested… REALLY REALLY GOOD!! Thanks!!!!
Just wanted to let everyone know: I made this for dinner last night and forgot to add the cream, and it was still amazing! I didn’t even realize I forgot the cream until I was lying down for bed! This is one of my favorite dinners to make because it tastes fancy but is so simple and cheap. I also made your naan recipe to go with it. It was my first attempt at naan and it could not have turned out better! I was surprised at how much I could taste the yogurt! I guess what I’m trying to say is MAKE THIS and MAKE THE NAAN!!!!!
Nah, I mean, you can’t beat cream… but the evaporated milk is definitely less guilt inducing. I was surprised at how good it was in the indian style creamed spinach, so I tried it here too. Loved it!
Hehe okay! You find that evaporated milk tastes better?
Gina – Hahah, no, that’s my mistake. I originally used cream, but have since been using evaporated milk. Looks like I did a sloppy update job :P
Revisiting this recipe and noticed the ingredients list calls for evaporated milk, but everywhere else in the recipe it says cream. I’m pretty sure the last time I made this, it called for heavy cream, not evaporated milk. Am I crazy?
I have tried it many times and my family loves it! This time I left the lentils half-cooked when boiling, and I fried the spices, ginger and garlic in the butter for a minute or 2 before adding lentils, then i poured in a cup of chicken broth along with tomatoes. It came out so yummy! thank you for this recipe!
This is so amazing! It’s so easy and tastes so good. We’ve made it four times in the last couple of weeks. Fyi I’ve used ground ginger (that’s all I had on hand) and it still tasted wonderful. Thanks you for this wonderful recipe.
this is my first time cooking with ginger and man were the flavors goooood! i didn’t use any cream but will next time. Thanks again for this awesome recipes.
Hahaha! I poured the whole carton of cream (a cup) into the Dal I guess I got distracted, tasted good but had a funny looking color (pinkisk) Lol
I also made this one a few weeks back, along with your naan. Delish!