Spiced Red Lentils (Masoor Dal)

When I need a meal in a quick minute, I almost always turn to lentils. Lentils are 25% protein, are High in fiber, Vitamin B and Iron.  Authentic Dal should have a porridge-like consistency, without the need for a blender.  You cannot substitute different lentils for red lentils in this dish; they have a very different texture. Plus, the red ones cook in 20 minutes! Just enough time to make the Coconut rice…

1 TBL coconut oil, melted

½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground turmeric (I grate fresh turmeric into the pan about a half a thumb sized piece)

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic or 4 large shallots, minced

2 tsp grated fresh ginger (about a large thumb-sized piece)

4 cups water

 8 ½ oz / 1 ¼ cups red lentils, rinsed

1 lb / 500gr plum tomatoes, chopped (I often use tomatoes I have frozen in the summer, I put them as is in the pan until the defrost enough to “cut up” with scissors!)

½ cup fresh coriander, minced

2 TBL ghee or unsalted butter or olive oil

sea salt & pepper

Lemon wedges

Heat up a large saucepan over medium heat, until oil is shimmering.

Add powdered spices and stir until fragrant. Stir in onions and shallots (if using). Cook until softened, about 5 min. Stir in garlic (if using) and ginger and fresh turmeric (if using), about 30 sec.

Stir in water and red lentils. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to lowest or smallest burner and let simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender and resemble a coarse puree, 20-25 min.

Stir in tomatoes, fresh coriander, and buuter/oliveoil/ghee. Season with sea salt and pepper. Serve with lemon wedges. Coconut Rice  and Palak Paneer make great sides! (See recipes)