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. 😩)
Spicy yet with undertone of sweetness. This was great curry with simple ingredients.
Cute Dozer!
I’m just grateful that I have a dog that forces me to go out. Or this social distancing would have driven me nuts.
I’m so glad you loved it J-Mom!! N x
I used the browning setting on my pressure cooker to do the veggies and then I added the lentils and liquid ingredients and cooked on high pressure for eight minutes. I did a quick pressure release and the consistency was perfect. To serve, I added a splash of fresh lemon juice and stirred in a hunk of butter to take it over the top! This was delicious with a beautiful color.
Oh that’s awesome to know Linda!!! N x
Beautiful. Loved it
Thanks for letting me know Robyn! N x
Incredible flavor Nagi! Simple and very delicious. I served it over cauliflower rice and both my husband and I LOVED it!! Thank you!!
Wahoo, thanks so much Kari! N x
I have fresh nice tomatoes and I would like to use them instead of canned ones. How many should I use? 🙂 What do you think?
Hi Ewa, you’d need to blanch and skin them first – then use equivalent to the canned weight (400g) N x
Yummy, my meat eating boys loved this – I didn’t gave lentils, but had a soup mix and used that.
I’m so glad it worked for you Leanne, that’s great to hear! N x
Absolutely delicious! I will definitely make this again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Kerry! N x
Nagi, another fabulous recipe! I made it yesterday. The house smelled incredible while it was simmering. We were going crazy before it was time to eat.
I mistakenly used yellow lentils without looking at your special notes at the end of your recipe. I kept them covered for 30 minutes (instead of 25 minutes uncovered as you indicated). Everything turned out okay, though; we just had to simmer the Lentil Curry longer, uncovered.
Delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it though Ellen! N x
Nagi this dahl was delicious. I made it last night and had some with with a garlic Naan. We’re in lockdown so improvised. I used 1 can brown lentils and just under a 1/2 cup of red lentils. The rest was your recipe. A lovely flavour with a good spicy bite. Not too hot for me though, I love spicy food. Just right! Thank you. This is a keeper!
Sounds fabulous Sjannette!!! N x
10/10 great recipe. Just made for lunch. We put a pile of leftover mashed potatoes in the middle 😋
YUM! Sounds great Danya!
Wowww this is so YUMMY. I made it today. I ate more than 1 plate 😂😂😂
So easy to made. I used to much water. And coconut milk was not of the best quality. I had a piece of coconut cream bar in the fridge. You can buy it at the asian shops. And if you don t have the coconut milk you can you this coconut cream bar. It s like hard butter and when you use in the lentil soup the coconut will melt and make the soup thicker and delicious. Thanks Nagi for the recipe! 🤗👌👌👌👌💖💖
I’ve never seen that here Ira, sounds great though! N x
I made this and the Easy Flatbread last night for dinner. It was super delicious. I will have to say I was a complete dope though. When I went for groceries I picked up three cans of coconut milk all of which I thought were regular unsweetened. I should have been more careful especially in the state of things these days. I have one regular and two Light. Guess which one got used in your dish? Yep, light. Grrrrrrrr. Oh well, it was still super delicious!
I’m so glad you still enjoyed it Joey! N x
Dear Nagi, sounds delicious. I’m out of coconut milk. Do you think double cream yoghurt could work?
Hi Hananja, it wont be quite the same but yes, you could use it as a substitute – N x
I live in France and my wife and I have cooked most of your recipes. All have been simple quick and delicious, thank you.
That’s lovely to hear Peter! Thanks so much 🙂 N x
This was a hit in our house, even 18yo, meat loving son gave it rave reviews 👍🏼
You’ve converted him Emma!!! N x
Hi Nagi, this is Edward from Madrid. I’m having trouble figuring out this recipe. The recipe calls for 1 cup lentils (200 grams) but doesn’t seems like very much considering the amount of coconut milk, tomato, garlic etc you’re putting in. You see, I make lot’s of lentils with curry paste (Patak’s) and I would normally use 500 gr of lentils for more or less the same basics ingredients you are using here and they turn out delicious. Many thanks in advance
Hi Edward, remember the lentils absorb a lot of the liquid here. I hope you give this recipe a shot and love it! N x
This recipe was amazing! Paired it with your World’s Easiest Yeast Bread. My family loved it. Thank you so much for this recipe. It’s a keeper.
Wahoo – that’s the perfect combo!!! N x
This was sooooo delicious. My daughter who is a newbie cook made it (with a little assistance) and it was super simple and the flavours packed such a punch. It took a bit longer to cook than described but it was delicious!!! Thanks Nagi!
That’s great to hear Lisa!!! N x
Great recipe. I made it for 5 (uses up a can of coconut milk and I’m only cooking for one).
Rather than reduce it (it comes out a bit thin but makes burning very unlikely) I just put 1 serving of it in a small pot and added a bit of shredded coconut. Takes about 2 minutes to thicken. (I use this for a lot of curry dishes). Had this with some cashews and fried shallots (Maesri brand) when I made leftovers today. Deep brand hot curry for me!
I love to cook all your recipes? But why my bookmark or the save button is so messy when I try to find it it’s not there and I forgot to cook it. I wish I can have all your recipes in photocopies for Christmas!
Can I freeze this? Look forward to make this.
Hi El, you can use the favourites button on my site – click the heart and all the recipes will save to your own personal folder. (And yes, you can freeze this one) N x
Sounds good. Thanks Nagi!