This lentil recipe is an eye opener – an incredible creamy coconut Lentil Curry made with just TWO spices! It’s a streamlined version of Indian Dal, delivering a similar intoxicating curry flavour but a whole lot less complicated. Make this with any type of dried lentils, canned, or even split peas!
Don’t let the simplicity of this recipe fool you. This is knock-your-socks-off good, and proof that you can eat amazing food on a budget.
“I’ll be honest and say I thought this would be lacking in flavour because I’m used to trying curries from scratch rather than with curry powder……How wrong was I?? I apologise wholeheartedly Nagi!! Amazing recipe, please try this people. Tasty, easy, mind blowingly awesome. xx” – Emily, 10 April 2020
Lentil Recipe – easy – mega flavour!
I know it’s childish of me to complain, but this Lentil Curry took an irritatingly long time to create.
I wanted simple. Minimal ingredients. And meat-free. Not like, say, this more complex (but equally delicious) Beef and Lentil Soup.
Quick to make. Very little chopping, very few ingredients.
A “go to” lentil recipe I could make any night that didn’t sacrifice flavour for speed.
And it had to stack up to real Indian Dal. I love it. I just don’t always have the time or everything I need to make it.
I knew it was a pretty high benchmark. Creating kapow! flavours out of plain lentils without going crazy with a list of spices.
But finally, I’m happy – and ready to share. Here it is!! (And just TWO SPICES!!)
Two little steps make all the difference…..
The key to cooking amazing food with bare minimum ingredients is good produce and knowing what to do to extract the most flavour out of what you have.
For this recipe, we’re going for the latter. We take our time sautéing the onions, ginger and garlic so they transform from raw harshness to a sweet, savoury flavour base. Then we cook off the two spices to make the flavour bloom.
These two little steps make all the difference so we only need water for this curry, no stock!
What goes in Lentil Curry with Coconut Sauce
Here’s what you need:
Lentils – use any dried lentils or canned here. Brown, green, red, yellow, whether split or whole OR any type of dried split peas. Green split peas will result in an an interesting colour in your pot, but it will still be phenomenally delicious. Just avoid French lentils (Puy lentils / black lentils) as they don’t soften as well as other lentils so you won’t get the same creamy, thick texture.
Curry powder – This is the main shortcut, The beauty of this is that you don’t need any fancy curry powder, just your run-of-the-mill jar from the grocery store. I’ve made this with Clives of India, Keens, and a generic brand and they all tasted just as good. Just be mindful of using SPICY curry powder – check the label!
Garlic and ginger – while fresh is ideal (followed by jarred), powder is a sufficient substitute;
Coconut milk – if you use low fat instead of full fat, you are not allowed to complain if your sauce isn’t as good as you hoped!😂
How to make this lentil recipe
And here’s how to make it. It takes about 50 minutes start to finish, but the active effort is only around 10 minutes – and there’s a nice flow to it because you can gather and measure ingredients while you stir the onions every now and then.
The Secret to an amazing Lentil Recipe
The key step here is sautéing the onions, garlic and ginger over a low-ish heat until tinged with gold, and they transform into a sweet, savoury flavour base for the sauce so we only need water instead of stock or broth.
Then we also cook off the curry powder and turmeric which lets the spices bloom before adding the lentils and everything else in to simmer away.
Just LOOK at that incredible sauce! So creamy! Loaded with flavour! (There are not enough exclamation marks in this world!!!)
What to serve with lentil curry
A sauce this good demands rice to soak it up, though if you’re on a low carb kick then cauliflower rice will work a treat. Basmati is on theme (being a curry and all) though plain white rice or brown rice is just fine too.
And if you really want to go all out, add a side of flatbread: Either real-deal naan or my general-purpose flatbread (an easy, no yeast recipe and I serve it as naan all the time with Indian curries).
Now, go forth and experience the greatness that is lentils!! Economical, filling, nourishing – the world’s greatest source of plant based protein, all wrapped up in a coconut curry sauce. YESS!!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Lentil Curry – mega flavour lentil recipe!
Ingredients
- 50g (3 tbsp) butter , unsalted (sub 2 tbsp neutral oil)
- 4 garlic cloves , finely minced (Note 1)
- 1.5 tbsp ginger , finely minced (Note 1)
- 1 onion , finely chopped (white, yellow, brown)
- 2 tbsp curry powder , mild or spicy (your choice!) (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp tumeric powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper , optional
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup dried lentils , green or brown (or any other dried lentils or split peas, Note 3)
- 400 ml / 14 oz coconut milk , full fat
- 400g/ 14 oz canned tomato , crushed or diced
- 3 cups (750 ml) water
Serving:
- 1/2 cup coriander/cilantro , finely chopped
- Yogurt , optional
- Basmati rice (or other rice)
Instructions
- Saute onion: Melt butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Slowly cook, stirring every now and then, for 10 minutes until tinged with gold and the onion is sweet.
- Cook off spices: Turn heat up to high, add curry powder and turmeric, stir for 1 1/2 minutes.
- Add everything else: Add remaining ingredients and stir. Bring to simmer, then place lid on and adjust heat to low / medium low so it's simmering gently.
- Simmer: Simmer for 30 minutes, then remove lid and simmer for a further 10 minutes to reduce the sauce. {Note 2 for cook times of other lentils}
- Lentils should be soft, sauce should be thickened and creamy. Too thick, add water. Too thin, simmer with lid off – thickens quickly.
- Coriander: Stir through half the coriander, then taste and add more salt if needed.
- Serve over basmati rice, sprinkled with more coriander and a dollop of yogurt. (Low carb option – cauliflower rice).
Recipe Notes:
- Green and brown lentils – most common & cheapest, cook per recipe
- Canned lentils (2 cans drained) – 25 min, uncovered the whole time
- Red split lentils – 25 min, uncovered the whole time
- Yellow or green split peas – 25 min, uncovered the whole time
- Any dal (Indian lentils) such as channa dal, toor dal or moong dal – per recipe
- French lentils (Puy lentils / black lentils) – not recommended as they don’t soften as well as other lentils so you won’t get the same creamy, thick texture.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Dozer in lockdown mode. This is what passer byes see.
(Don’t worry, he still gets out once a day to the dog park! He just doesn’t go out as much as he used to. Like all of us. 😩)
Hi Nagi, I made this and it was absolutely delicious,Thank you so much
That’s great Martina! N x
Made it yesterday on a rainy day, super delicious,thank you
Perfect Chrystel!! N x
Omg it was absolutely amazing!! Thank you Nagi! My three picky men of absolutely different “I am not eating that yucky food” tastes raved about it. I did not have cayenne so I used red chili pepper and even though it was spicy it was still great! Thank you!
You’ve shown them Myriam!! 😂
Delicious! I made this for lunch today. I’ve also made your no-yeast bread and your potato leek soup, all turned out great. Thanks for the recipes.
This was delicious! I’ll admit I was also sceptical, but this well exceeded my expectations. Even my 15mo has second helpings and she can be quite picky. Thank you for another amazing recipe.
Fantastic recipe , thank you so very much!
Hi Niagi,
Can I use coconut cream instead of milk?
Love your recipes!!!
Hi Lori – yes definitely, it will be a little thicker and more rich, but sooooo delicious! N x
I used Australian yellow split peas found in the Indian section of grocer. They were much thicker than usual. It took over 1.5hrs to cook with adding extra water twice. Peas did look good the texture in the curry.
The peas were not soaked before hand. Tasted lovely, bit too spicy for my kids.
I will try with red lentils next as i am more familiar with their cook time
Hi Mel – were they possibly not split if they were quite thick? If that’s the case, yes they will take much longer to cook unfortunately. If you want to dial down the heat, simply reduce the cayenne 🙂 N x
This was a hit in my house. Easy and delicious- plus inexpensive. I’m not a natural cook but your recipes are giving me confidence because they are a delicious 😋
Wahoo that’s great to hear Jessica! N x
Thank you so much for all your recipes, I’ve cooked so many💖 you are my go to for all things yum. This curry is amazing! Because of your easy to follow instructions and awesome videos, the one I made looks just like yours 😊
OMG! This is DELICIOUS. Picky vege husband said it was the best curry. Ever! Boys want to learn how to cook every recipe I’ve made from your blog. You are a godsend, and this a winner!!
Wahoo, that’s great Annelyse! N x
Just thought I’d chime in. I wouldn’t use chickpeas. The green/brown lentils are what I used and it turned out perfect!
Hi Nagi, I look forward to trying this recipe. Can I use chickpeas as well? I can only find green lentils in Aldi. If yes, how long should I build the chickpeas ?
I made this this evening for dinner, and it was divine! Your recipes are always so easy and delicious….they never flop!
These were so so yum! Had ours with rice and garlic naan. Then leftovers for lunch the next 2 days. These will definitely be on our normal dinner rotation from now on!
Oh that looks so goood
Made it yesterday and had it with some rice noodles. Then again for dinner with some fried rice. Will be having it again for lunch today. There won’t be any for freezing. It was really yummy and so easy to make! Thanks for the recipe! 😀
Forget about freezing it! Made it yesterday and had it with some rice noodles. Then again for dinner with some fried rice. Will be having it again for lunch today. It was really yummy and so easy to make! Thanks for the recipe! 😀
I only had tinned brown lentils and I agree with another commenter, definitely way too much water. If using tinned I’d say maybe 1 cup water at most. Currently been simmering for 40mins and still so watery. Absolutely not Nagi’s fault though…I should’ve nipped out and grabbed dried lentils as instructed in recipe! It still smells amazing and I’ve added pumpkin and spinach for a bit of oomph. Can’t wait to get stuck in. Lucky I started cooking early so can keep reducing a while longer!
This was excellent! Boiled some rice to go with it (I’m useless at cooking rice any other way, sorry😭) and I was slurping it from the spoon. Absolutely delicious!
Has anyone tried freezing this curry?
Hey Nagi, are the lentils meant be soaked beforehand? I used green split peas and cooked for the 25m but they were still incredibly crunchy and then I looked at the back of pea pack and it does says 35m. I’ve just added more water and cooking so sure it will be fine but was just curious.
I was looking for my first lentil recipe to practice on and wow, was I glad I came across your one! Only thing I didn’t have was cilantro/coriander but I just steamed some broccoli to put with it. Also tried your easy flat bread recipe to go with this the next day which was great too. Definitely a winner, thanks for sharing with us Nagi!
The perfect combo for mopping up all that deliciousness! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Vikki! N x