Dal Nirvana
Things are a little tight this month so I made a resolution to use up all (or a lot) of the food that I have in my pantry and freezer. Sure, I should always be doing this anyway but exciting recipes always seem to entice me into trying (and buying) new things.
Anyway, I have two huge bags of lentils (a.k.a. “dal”) sitting in my pantry that have been waiting for their day in the spot light. I saw this recipe for Dal Nirvana over on Steamy Kitchen and it looked so scrumptious that I had to try it. The best part is that the ingredient list is mostly items that I already have. Indian recipes are tricky because they usually include ingredients that I don’t have nor have I ever heard of! This recipe, on the other hand is different. It’s simple, it’s delicious, it’s super filling and I’d happily eat it every day.
I served the Dal with some simple, steamed jasmine rice and homemade naan (Indian flat bread). The recipe for the naan will be up in a couple of days… it turned out AMAZING!
Dal Nirvana
Dal Nirvana
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry brown lentils ($0.31)
- 15 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes ($1.49)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.12)
- 1 inch fresh ginger ($0.07)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.03)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.17)
- to taste salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk or cream ($0.75)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.37)
Instructions
- Place the lentils in a pot and cover with a couple inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil until tender (about ten minutes). Drain the lentils in a colander.
- While the lentils are boiling, mince the garlic and peel and grate the ginger (use a small cheese grater). Return the drained lentils to the pot (medium heat) and add the butter, ginger, garlic, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper.
- Add the can of tomatoes and one cup of water. Stir it all together, bring it to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for half an hour. The mixture should be soft and thick after a half hour. If it is not, continue to simmer, adding more water if it dries out. You want the end product to be thick, not watery.
- Stir in the evaporated milk or cream and garnish with fresh, chopped cilantro. Serve over rice or with naan bread for dipping!
Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Step By Step Photos
I have this huge bag of brown lentils so that is what I used. Black lentils were used in the Steamy Kitchen recipe so feel free to experiment.
Place the lentils in a pot and cover with two inches of water.
Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Boil until the lentils are soft (about ten minutes).
While the lentils boil, mince the garlic, peel and grate the ginger.
Drain the lentils then return them to the pot (reduce heat to medium).
Add the butter, garlic, ginger, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir it on up.
Add the can of crushed or diced tomatoes, one cup of water and stir it all together.
Simmer the mixture with a lid on until it is cooked down to a soft, thick mixture.
Add the evaporated milk or cream…
Stir it up, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve it up!
NOTE: I’m sure you could make this recipe for less money than I did. I happened to be near a Whole Foods yesterday so I stopped there to pick up the few ingredients that I didn’t have (cilantro, ginger, cream and diced tomatoes). I may have paid a little more than usual but this recipe is so simple and inexpensive that it was still well worth it.
The Steamy Kitchen version says it serves four but I portioned out my lunches and got six servings out of the pot. Of course, I was serving the Dal with rice and naan which bulked up the meal as a whole.
I’ve made this recipe as is tons of times now, so I decided to try adding to it a little. Today I decided to saute a while diced onion in the butter, then added the garlic once the onions were translucent before adding everything else. 100% would recommend, and it’s a cheap addition. The onions give the lentils a nice depth and crunchy element. I love this over your coconut rice, or just over plan jasmine rice 😊
Made this tonight. YUMMY! Followed suggestions and added some garam masala and a little bit more cumin. I also added spinach because wanted veggies and didn’t want to make a separate dish. HAHA
I think adding onions to this recipe before you add the garlic and lentils back into the pot would make it a lot more flavorful!
Oh that would be a great addition!
I could only find canned lentils, and liked the idea of adding 1/2 tsp of garam masala (suggested in the comments) so I went with it – it turned out AMAZING!!!. Probably could have cut the cooking time down if I had thought to reduce the amount of liquid I started with, since the canned lentils are already cooked …but I enjoyed it more with each bite! It has nice complex flavour – heat, but you can still really taste the ginger sweetness too :) Definitely my new go-to, and so cheap that I can afford to splurge on store-bought Naan (though next up will probably be my attempt at the Naan recipe here)
This is my go-too lentil recipe! So simple yet so delicious! I use fat-free half and half instead of cream, and I think it works wonderfully well. Great recipe!
This was fantastic!! Much easier than other dal recipes I have tried. I added an extra 1/2tsp of cumin and 1/2 tsp garam masala. Will be making this a lot in the future.
Made this for lunch prep this week and it turned out well, though I had to add way more cumin than the recipe suggested (I think I was up to 1 tsp or so by the end of the recipe). I found that as the dish cooked, the fragrance and flavor of the cumin reduced greatly, so I added some additional cumin near the end to get the same pop of flavors. I think I might try adding Garam Masala next time too.
That being said, overall it tastes decent and will be totally acceptable for lunches this week.
This is one of my favorites!! I like it best with black lentils, 1/2 tsp Garam Marsala, and coconut milk instead of dairy. It freezes great so I make it in big batches.
Hardest part is finding the black lentils at the grocery store.
Just made this for my Indian-food-loving fam. We adored it; so easy, super cheap and amazingly delish! I sauteed onions before adding the lentils back in, and added some turmeric. Instead of adding water or cream, I used Vegan Protein Broth during the simmer phase (really creamy).
Hello! I am trying to use some lentils and evaporated milk before they spoil. I have orange and green lentils. Can they be used instead of the brown ones in the same way on this recipe?
Thank you for your help.
It might be tricky to use them together as orange lentils cook very fast and tend to break down into mush, while green lentils take much longer to cook and soften. You can use different types of lentils as long as you adjust the cooking time and are aware that there may be texture differences between the varieties.
Thank you! I will experiment!
Looks fantastic. I have a kid who can’t do any dairy. Is there an evaporated milk substitute I could use that wouldn’t ruin this recipe?
Full fat coconut milk is REALLY good with curry! I’d use that. :)
I have been wanting to make this for months, and today was the day! Also, finally dusted off the old rice cooker and now have lunch for the rest of the weekend. I added some peas and frozen spinach which added in flavor and color. Thank you for the idea and always love to browse your site . Personal note, I did end up adding a bit of extra spices at the end along with a hint of Garam Masala.
Made a double batch of this tonight; some to freeze for after new baby comes. It was very good!
I made this to get rid of a couple cans of lentils that were sitting in my pantry, and since my husband isn’t usually a fan of Indian dishes, him getting sent away for work made it the perfect time to try this. I added one can, used a stick blender to pulse it a few times to get rid of the bigger chunks of tomato, then added the second can’s worth.
It’s SO GOOD! I made your cumin rice to go with it, but I used brown jasmine rice in my rice cooker, and it was all I could do not to eat ALL of it.
Because I used way more lentils, I got 6 GENEROUS servings out of this recipe.
So far, I haven’t found a recipe on your site that I haven’t loved. I’ve had to tweak a little here and there, but everything has been a win, and also gotten a thumbs up from my kinda picky husband.
I’ve been a long-time fan of this recipe (and your blog!) and have been making this recipe since early 2011. Made it again last night (in 2017) and it’s still a winner! Usually I like to modify recipes to put my own spin on them, but this one is perfect as is (imo). The only change I’ve ever made is doubling it because it’s so delicious =)
Great recipe that has become a staple for me. 5 stars for the original recipe but it’s also a great base for modifications. I add a chopped onion, some curry spice mix, and instead of evaporated milk I add a dollop of sour cream when serving.