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:
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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.
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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!
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Garlic and ginger – while fresh is ideal (followed by jarred), powder is a sufficient substitute;
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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. 😩)
Laura says
Unbelievable! So delicious and a ton of flavour. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Grace says
Yep – save this one! Fantastic when you don’t have much left in the fridge. So tasty and economical. We added baby spinach at the end and steamed broccoli to up the veggie intake.
DAWN KING says
Delicious! We will be making this again! So much flavor and so easy!
Sarah says
I used canned lentils so I didn’t add water as the lentils were already cooked, and it came out perfect.
This might not win points for authenticity with my Pakistani mother, but when it tastes this good, who cares?!
Thanks for a great recipe Nagi, I’m saving this one!
Susan Greenwell says
Oh poor I’m tinned lentils also and have just added the water, now looks like soup! Hope it cooks down…. Alot!! 😕
Jacinda says
Would babas curry powder work ok?
Naomi says
Hi Nagi,
I love your recipes and always enjoy what I cook from your site! I’m just starting meal tracking and realised that although your recipes have number of servings and nutritional information per serving, it doesn’t tell me how much a serving is. Is it possible to add this info?
BTW, this curry is da BOMB!!! Definitely serve it with Greek yoghurt and loads of fresh coriander!!
melissa says
Super easy and very tasty! Great with Nagi’s flat bread 🙂
Lakesha Reed says
Do you have a vegan version of this?
Nagi says
Sure! Just sub the butter with coconut oil! N x
Claire says
This was delicious, super easy to make and lots of leftovers to freeze for quick meals. It will definitely be on regular rotation as the weather gets cooler!
Denise Travis says
I love this recipe! At the beginning of Covid, my husband bought a bunch of lentils. I had no idea what to do with them. I stumbled on this recipe and now it has become a staple in our house! I make it at least twice a month! Thank you so much!
Phoebe says
Ugh my partner did the same thing! Men! Luckily I found something to do with them, they’ve been in there for over a year 😂
Jaqueline Cottrell says
I have to say that this is the first time I’ve made a curry from the internet that I really enjoyed and will keep for use to make for friends. Had to make my own curry powder up, but that worked okay. This was delicious, thank you.
kathleen Savage says
Easy to make and delicious too!
Diane2210 says
This is a very flavorful recipe. Easy to make and great during lentil. Can cream of coconutnbe used instead of coconut milk? All of your recipes are amazing.
Dara says
Hello Nagi – can you use urad dal (black lentils – the sort used in Dhal Makhani) in this recipe?
Nagi says
I haven’t tried sorry Dara – would love to know if it works! N x
Petras says
I used canned lentils and only two cups of water, after half an hour uncovered on the stove it still looks more like a soup than a curry. Clearly, one cup of water would have been more than enough since canned lentils are already cooked and do not absorb water. So I ended up with a bowl of soup.
Jill says
I used two cans lentils and followed the recipe … 3 cups of water and simmered with the lid off as recipe states. It was perfect and delicious
Becky says
I was looking for something simple I could meal prep for the week ahead and this was absolutely FANTASTIC. I wanted plenty to freeze so I doubled all the ingredients and used red lentils + yellow split peas and I couldn’t be happier.Amazing Recipe, thank you!!
Laura says
Absolutely amazing!! The flavours are unbelievable. Thank you for such an amazing recipe. I love all of your recipes!!
Andrea says
Love this curry. Easy to make and delicious.
Sarah says
Made this at the weekend and froze some portions down for lunch during the week whilst I am working from home. This tastes lovely and great heat following the instructions to the letter. Great for those colder days!
Kathy Papas says
Made this tonight and it was just perfect. Thank you Nagi ☺️