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. 😩)
Mate, you are becoming my ‘cookbook’ these days. I’ve never made a lentil curry before but needed to use the pantry staples today and knew exactly where to search for a recipe I could count on to be tasty. Thank you. Delicious!!!
That’s awesome to hear Sinead, thanks so much!! N x
This was amazing! Had never tried lentils before but hubby & I & all 5 kids loved it. I’ve made loads of your recipes & have loved every single one! HAD to comment on this one tho. We live in the Caribbean & regular curry powder isn’t readily available so used mostly Jamaican curry powder but still tasted incredible.
Another wonderful dish using pantry staples . Important in these days of lock down .
I used lower fat coconut milk and it was fabulous !
I used chopped coriander leaves and stems , perfect 👌
Sounds perfect Sue! N x
Hello Nagi, I’m here in Australia and tinned tomatoes are hard to find at the moment. I currently have tomato past, tomato sauce/ketchup, tin tomato soup and jar of tomato pasta sauce. I also have some cherry tomatoes floating around in the fridge. Just wondering what would be the best substitute for the tin tomatoes? Any help would be amazing thank you. Stay safe 🙂
Hi Amber! Funny you should ask – I was struggling myself so I figured out how to substitute with tomato paste – here’s the recipe! 🙂 https://www.dropbox.com/s/otdr301w0wsko0l/Tomato%20Paste%20replacement%20for%20canned%20tomato%20%7C%20RecipeTin%20Eats.pdf?dl=0
My goodness, thank you so so much. You are amazing (and super quick to reply too). Time to stop typing and get this curry up and running. Can’t wait!!!
This curry is amazing. I added some cubed pumpkin to it and for such an easy dish to make the taste is sensational.
Wahoo – the perfect addition Rosemary! N x
So easy and so tasty! This was the third recipe of yours that I’ve made, and I am so happy to have found you :D.
Made and used your tzatziki sauce, which made up for not having cilantro. Thanks!
Thanks so much for the feedback Elamie, that’s lovely to hear! N x
Just made this with extra sweet potato. It’s amazing, thank you!
Yum! Sounds great Kim! N x
Utterly delicious curry! I couldn’t believe how tasty this was – a real keeper! I added a whole bunch of coriander and served it with My Mum’s homemade quince chutney and Greek yoghurt.
Sounds great Sarah!! I’m so glad you loved it! N x
I forgot to say that I used tinned brown lentils because that’s what I had and you need to really reduce the water – I only added about 300ml but still needed to cook it for 40 mins to reduce. I suspect no water (Maybe 1/2 cup) is required if you use tinned lentils
Hi Sarah – sorry you had issues here, were you cooking with the lid off the whole time? N x
Yes – lid off all the way through. I think for tinned lentils they don’t absorb much liquid as they are already cooked.
Any recommendations on what yoghurt to serve with the curry? Can I use Greek? Coconut yoghurt?
Hey Nagi Just checking..
Do I need to precook the red lentils ..?The pack recommends but I gather you don’t..
Is it ok not to? Thanks
Hi Helen! No need 🙂 Just follow the recipe as written if using whole red lentils, shorten cook time a bit if you’re using split red lentils (see recipe notes) as they cook faster 🙂 N x
Sorry, not our favourite. I normally make lentil curry from scratch and thought this would be a good cheats version in the instant pot . After cooking And tasted it I had to add some gram masala and Kasparov methi leaves.
Loved your Brazil’s bean curry was a huge hit on toast with the teens and hubby.
PS When recipes CAN be made in an instant pot, I will always add directions! 🙂 Just a tip. N x
Hi Steph – this one can’t be made in an instant pot! It needs to reduce down and intensify in flavour, if you used an instant pot then the flavour would be lacking and diluted!! 🙂 N x
This recipe is just delicious! I had heads hovering around this pot as it bubbled away. Don’t forget the yoghurt and coriander, they finish it beautifully. Thank you Nagi!
Oh Nagi! Thank you so so much for this recipe. Love it! I’ve had such a hard time finding dinner recipes that my 1 year old likes… she loves your curry…she wanted 2 bowls! Sharing your recipe with all my friends. Thanks again x
Woah what great taste Rachel!! N x
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. I just wanted to use up ingredients I already had without too much fuss or needing to head to the shops…
How wrong was I?? I apologise wholeheartedly Nagi!! Amazing recipe, please try this people. Tasty, easy, mind blowingly awesome. xx
The leftovers will be even better no doubt!
I’m so glad you tried it Emily!!! – N x
Thank you!! Where are my manners? 😀
Amazing, thank you.
Thanks so much Barbra! N
I made this earlier in the week and have kept it in the fridge. Take out what we need for one meal (2 of us) popped in a saucepan and added what’s in the fridge – finely chopped chicken one meal, broccoli cauliflower carrot the next, with warm home made bread the next. Still have 2 more meals, great easy lunch when we’re working in the garden during this time of self isolation. Yummy and healthy too.
Can’t wait to try this! I’ve always wanted to cook curries like this but been intimidated by the long ingredient lists. Love the relative simplicity of this one!
Awesome
Thanks so much Kerry! N x
Made this tonight and it was as good as I’d hoped it would be. Thanks Nagi!
You’re so welcome Elke!! N x
Nagi, this is perhaps the BEST Curry I have ever made. The recipe is too simple, foolproof! Made 5 very generous serves. Looking forward to eating this all week long!
I’m so glad you love it Emma, that’s great to hear!! N x
Good curry.