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, 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!
Nagi, Please tell Dozer to count his blessings. The dog parks here are being closed due to the virus. (kc,mo,usa)
I’m sure they will close here too! N x
This is cooking as I type and it is smelling gorgeous! Can’t wait to tuck in. It’s a rather cold day here today and this recipe is just perfect. Can’t wait to tuck in.
Thanks for another winner Nagi.
YES!!!! Perfect Stheni! N x
Hi. I don’t have curry powder, but I do have a variety of canned curry paste (green, red, and yellow). Can I use canned curry paste? If so, how much paste do I use and should I use green, red, or yellow? Thank you for all of your recipe help!
Hi Christina! I’d use red or yellow though green would be delicious too! Start with 2.5 tbsp, and add it into the onions and cook it for about 3 minutes until it sort of dries out a bit. This is how you can bring out the best flavour from canned curry pastes 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi, my whole family simply love you….every one of your recipes that I have made have been winners. I don’t even bother looking anywhere else for recipe ideas, I just see what Nagi’s done. I made your lentil curry for dinner tonight. My kids hate dahl with a passion, but they fought for second and third helpings of yours….so that’s saying something. Thanks, you’re fabulous. Cheers Michelle
That’s the BEST Michelle!!! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂 N x
Hello Dozer, sorry but we have to stay indoor, listen your mother she knows best. I ll try this on Sat weather will be really cold for 5 days. Am having just about everything only curry and coconut milk is missing haven’t used those two things for 12 months. Have safe weekend.
Hi Vera, perfect to warm you up! Stay safe (and warm) N ❤️
Definitely be trying this out on my family. I love doing meals with rice but tend to have leftover rice. I’ve always been a bit reluctant about using leftover rice as there are conflicting views as to whether it is safe to eat. I’ve heard that if it is not cooled down properly it produces toxins that can make you ill. What is your advice on this? I often misjudge the amount of rice my family will eat and end up throwing it away because I’m worried about it’s safety. As I can’t get rice in the supermarket at the moment I don’t want to be throwing it away.
Hi Ann! I find it sad that there’s so much misinformation about basic food safety like rice!! Rice, like ANY hot food, will grow bacteria IF left out and it’s warm for hours and hours. The reason I think rice got a bad reputation is because it’s the sort of thing that places can make huge vats of and they stay warm for hours, and people don’t think of rice “going off” if left out like this and this is when the problem happens. Whereas EVERYONE knows meat shouldn’t stay out for hours. If rice is cooled down reasonably fast and cool enough (even if not room temp yet) to be in the fridge within 2 hours, then it’s absolutely fine. For normal home cooking size batches, we just don’t make rice batches big enough to have the problem of rice staying hot for hours upon hours. Hope that helps! N x
absolutely delicious !!
Thanks so much Susan! N x
Nagi, another gorgeous recipe! I added 2 diced eggplant from the garden and served with steamed brown basmati and a dollop of tzatziki on top. Hubby loved it too. Thank you 🤗
Yum! I’m jealous of your garden veggies Liz!! N x
Yet another winning recipe. I used Clive of India Curry Powder & added the cayenne pepper. It took a little longer than the recommended 40 minutes to get to the right consistency (I used dried green lentils) but was worth the wait. I was surprised by how much the carnivores in the family enjoyed this meal & it is definitely budget friendly. Will make again. Thank you
I’m so glad you loved it Colleen!! N x
Nagi is this good to make today and eat tomorrow? Also will any left overs freeze ok?
Yes 100%!!!
Hi Sonia, I’m obviously not Nagi but I made this last night & am eating the leftovers for lunch right now. I can tell you it is even better the second day. Colleen
Yum this looks delicious as all your recipes do Nagi! I have all those ingredients in my pantry so off to the kitchen i go!
Wahoo! Love to know what you think!! N x
I have fresh tumeric in my refrigerator. Could I substitute that for the powdered turmeric and if yes, how much? Thanks for all the beautiful and tasty recipes.
HI Linda, yes definitely, use 1 tsp grated fresh turmeric. N x
I made this curry a few nights ago and it turned out amazing! I had to cook my lentils quite a bit longer, almost twice as long, before they were tender, but it turned out great. Definitely one I will keep in my recipe book,
Hi Nagi. I just heard, on the news, that dogs and cats cannot catch COVIB-19. Too bad people were not so lucky.
I know!!! 😂
Ohh yum! I really want to make this but I have no coconut milk. I have every single other item listed…so close to this being supper this evening 🙁
Hi Tamaira, do you have cream at all?? N x
Yes I do have table cream (18%).
Hi Nagi- I’m just making your recipe for this lentil curry now; it smells heavenly, and the sauce is so delicious. Yum…
Also, I’m so thankful for wonderful people like you, and Dozer, who just make life better for all of us!
Thank you so much Dolores, that’s so nice to hear – I hope you enjoy the curry!! N x