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. 😩)
I’ve make this soooo many times over the years; one of my favourite. I cannot recommend enough that you top it with a dollop of plain yoghurt and sweet mango chutney (I love Patak’s). It takes it to the next level. Heavenly!!
I’ve made this soooo many times over the years; one of my favourite. I cannot recommend enough to be sure you top it with a dollop of yoghurt and sweet mango chutney. It takes it to the next level. Heavenly!!
I made this tonight and it was really tasty. My 11-month-old daughter likes it too. I used salt-free crushed tomatoes and omitted the cayenne for her portion but added it to mine. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Amazing! A very flavoursome dish which will likely become a new family favourite.
What I did differently:
Used salted butter and reduced the salt in the recipe a bit.
Used my own curry blend – (1 part each ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and fennel seeds to 1/2 part chilli powder).
I omitted the turmeric and cayenne pepper from the recipe as the blend is quite spicy and already contains turmeric.
I used 2 cups water instead of 3.
Turned out perfectly.
This is going to be one of my favourite recipes – simple and easy to make BUT the flavours are so delicious. Thank you!!!.
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! My family and I give it a thumbs up and will add to our meatless Monday menu 🙂
Another great recipe. Canned lentils worked perfectly as instructed. I wanted some extra veg so added in carrot, potato, and capsicum, simply cooking them with the onion and then letting them simmer with everything else. Served with rice and greek yoghurt, it is a dish I will definitely make again. No leftovers this time but I imagine this would work well as a party pie filling.
Super easy and delicious. Had leftovers, so as it was a little liquidy, I used that liquid to soften some cauliflower florets before adding back to the lentils. Love a versatile dish. I also used half the a out of cayenne and it was just enough of a hint of heat.
This one will be added to our regular rotation! So simple, budget friendly but really flavoursome. My partner usually is a huge meat lover, but he went back for seconds with this one!
My new favourite! Such a tasty and comfy winter night comfort meal. I use a can of Italian lentils and only 1/2 cup water. It turns out more like a Dahl. Yum!
This was just incredible. My family do NOT do chilli but next time I will sneak some cayenne in there. A little heat in this would be insanely good.
I have commented before how great this recipe is. But the last few times I’ve made this (I make it a lot) I have substituted canned tomato with passata (smoother consistency) & added 500g mince (beef/pork) whichever mince I have on hand. It’s been our favourite curry Winter 2024. Thank you Nagi & blessings to Dozer.
Nagi, do you realise that in the photo of Dozer, we can see your feet in the window reflection but not you? Haha!
Anyway, I made this lentil curry today after smelling the lentil that my Indian colleague had in the office 2 days ago. I soaked the yellow lentils overnight and I just simmered till they were soft. I had to take off the lid as it was still pretty watery after 30 mins.
Yum! I’ll make this again!
I made this tonight and it was a big hit, I used the optional cayenne and added on jalepeño and the heat was just right. Thank you!
If you don’t like the taste of coconut milk you could use regular milk, chicken broth, oat milk, or if you want to maintain the creaminess that coconut milk imparts you could use a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup- make up the difference in liquid with milk or water. . .
if you decide to use regular milk you might have to watch it a little more closely to make sure the milk doesn’t burn
I made this recipe tonight, it’s very similar to recipes for lentils that I made up myself but it’s nice to find one on the internet that is easy and tastes delicious and was rather inexpensive
The best lentil curry ever!!!
Hiya, I made this for supper tonight and the only issue that I have with it is that I don’t actually like coconut milk. Usually I can’t taste it in recipes but in this one I could. Is there anything that I could use instead? I think that I would’ve really enjoyed it without the taste of coconut milk.
Update: I tried this with Greek yoghurt instead and it was amazeballs! We all loved it!
I have subbed Coconut Milk with Greek style yoghurt. We have enjoyed it with both.
Awesome, thanks! I will try that because it sounds great =)
If you don’t like the taste of coconut milk you could use regular milk, chicken broth, oat milk, or if you want to maintain the creaminess that coconut milk imparts you could use a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup- make up the difference in liquid with milk or water. . .
if you decide to use regular milk you might have to watch it a little more closely to make sure the milk doesn’t burn
Thank you for the great advice! =)
LOVE LOVE LOVE- i have made this many times, so much nicer and heartier than soup in winter. Easy ingredients always at hand. Can’t stop eating it though 😄
OK. I was another doubted, until. I made this. It’s great!! Only tweak was another spoon of curry powder as I just don’t think we get as good basic curry powder in the UK. Very minimal effort for a great taste!
Love love love this curry and is one of my go to’s when I’m feeding my adult kids who also loveeee it!! thank you Nagi 🙂 yummmmm!