Red Lentil Dahl
Recipes · Dinner · Recipe, Typed Supps
Lentils, spice and coconut milk — the cheapest hot meal in the library, and one of the best.
Allergens and patterns
None of the fourteen major allergens. Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups dry (760g cooked) Red Lentils — They collapse into the pot in 20 minutes with no soaking, and bring plant protein, iron and a lot of fibre.
- 1/2 tin (200ml) Coconut Milk — Rounds off the spice and makes the pot rich. It is where nearly all the saturated fat here comes from, so half a tin is deliberate.
- 3/4 tsp (3g) Ground Turmeric — Colour and earthiness, and its curcumin absorbs better with the coconut fat and a grind of black pepper.
- 1 onion, diced (100g) Onions — Fried first until properly soft — a dahl built on raw-tasting onion never recovers.
- a thumb, grated (10g) Fresh Ginger — Sharp heat that cuts through the coconut fat.
- 3 handfuls (80g) Spinach — Stirred through at the end. The iron in both the lentils and the spinach is non-heme, so a squeeze of lemon at the table genuinely helps you absorb it.
- to serve (150g cooked) Brown Rice — Rice and lentils together cover each other amino acid gaps, which is why the pairing shows up in so many cuisines.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories: 371.8 kcal
- Protein: 20.4g
- Carbohydrate: 53.4g
- of which sugars: 5.8g
- Fat: 9g
- of which saturated: 6.6g
- Fibre: 17g
- Sodium: 24.6mg
Method
- Soften the onion in a little oil, then add the ginger and turmeric and cook for a minute.
- Add the lentils and about 700ml of water and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
- Pour in the coconut milk and cook for another 5 minutes until thick.
- Stir the spinach through until it wilts, and serve over the rice.
Nutrients it supplies
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