Comforting Coconut Red Lentil Daal
37 min
Meal
Freezer-friendly
Servings
Total
37 minPrep
10 minCook
27 minFree from
soy
peanut
tree nut
sesame
gluten
Ingredients
Curry
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1 tsp (5 mL)vegetable oil
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1medium onion, chopped
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3cloves garlic, minced
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1medium carrot, chopped
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1 Tbsp (6 g)freshly grated ginger
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2 tsp (4 g)curry powder
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1 tsp (3 g)ground turmeric
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1 tsp (3 g)ground cumin
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½ tsppaprika powder
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1 pinchsalt, to taste
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2 cups (480 mL)water
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1vegetable bouillon cube
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1⅔ cups (399 mL)canned full-fat coconut milk
Rice
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1½ cups (300 g)uncooked basmati rice, rinsed, soaked for 2 hours†
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2¼ cups (540 mL)water
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6cardamom pods, cracked
Optional garnish
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fresh cilantro
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unsweetened coconut yogurt
Directions
- Add the oil, onion, and garlic to a large pot on high heat. Sauté for 4 minutes, adding splashes of water as needed to deglaze the pot.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the carrot and grated ginger, and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Then add all of the spices. Stir 30 - 60 seconds, stirring throughout, to toast the spices.
- Drain the lentils and add them to the pot along with the water and bouillon cube. Stir.
- Add the coconut milk, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, partially cover with the lid and stir occasionally until the lentils are fully cooked, about 15 - 20 minutes.
- Drain the soaked rice and add it to a medium pot. Add the water and the cardamom pods, bring to a boil before reducing to medium-low with the lid partially covering until cooked, about 15 minutes. When cooked, remove from the heat and fully cover with a lid until ready to serve.
- Serve the rice alongside the daal. Garnish as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- †If you did not soak the rice, you may need to add more water.
Storage
- Store the daal in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Let us know what you think
Plate method
The Plate Method is a visual tool that helps us ensure our dietary needs are on track. Touch the image below to see how this recipe measures up.
Grains & Starches 42%
• uncooked basmati rice
Proteins 46%
• dry red lentils
Fruits & Veggies 12%
• medium onion
• clove garlic
• medium carrot
• freshly grated ginger
Calcium
No significant sources of calciumFat
• vegetable oil
• canned full-fat coconut milk
Nutrition info
We believe that focusing on numbers can harm our relationship with food. Instead, our philosophy is to Nourish the Cells & the Soul. If you require specific nutrition information due to a medical condition, please consult with a dietitian or physician. The nutritional information provided is composed with the utmost care. However, we cannot guarantee the correctness of the displayed values, see also our disclaimer.
Watch it step-by-step!
Discussion & Rating
Absolutely love this daal! I've made it with different vegetables, different combo of vegetables and it is always amazing.
I am trying to incorporate more plant based meals into my family's diet so I made this today and tossed in cubes of firm tofu to it and it was amazing. I love that this is freezer friendly so that I can whip up a bunch for a quick and easy comforting healthy meal.
This is now a staple dish in my family (who are not plant-based). Everyone loves it!
LOVE this dish! So easy, comforting and delish. I swapped out the coconut milk for a little homemade cashew cream as I'm trying to keep saturated fats to a minimum. Unfortunately, I just started the low-FODMAP diet, so lentils are off the menu, but I really hope to make/have this dish again in the future!
Hello: If not using any bouillon cube or broth (I don't have), will it work well just with water? Thank you.
Delicious! Make it quite often. Super good portion for leftovers :)
I just made this, and it's probably going to be my favourite daal recipe ever! It's delightfully warm and comforting and leaves a lot of room for modification (I added some leftover red bell pepper and zucchini, and it works fabulously). I'll definitely be making this again!
We've made this recipe so much that it's a weekly staple in our house now. So delicious and super easy to make. Rinsing the lentils must be the hardest part 🙈🤣 Thank you for a delicious meal 😊
Hi! I love this recipe, thank you ;) I was wondering if it is a mistake to leave the rice soaking overnight? Sometimes it would make it easier for me. Or would it be better not to soak it at all in this case?
It turns out bitter。
Very yummy and easy to make! Added spinach in the end to up the amount of veggies in it :)
UNBELIEVABLE. I only ever order vegan lentil dishes at indian places and always wonder how they make it. Now I know!! I love it so much thank you for this recipe.
Easy to make and really comforting! It was my first time making daal but definitly not the last.
It was absolutely delicious and easy to make!
So delucious! Absolutely love it. I'm not vegan, so I "unveganized" it (used cow milk instead of coconut) and it was still really tasty. I definitely recommend it!
♥️
Oh my gahhhh fhsjfnsjfhejdn!!! Okay so a few things… haha; I burnt the garlic and onion because I forgot it was on high heat. I didn’t have any vegetable bouillon cubes or stock so I just left it out. And then I had the wrong canned coconut milk. Mine said “curry” on it… therefore it was pre-seasoned. I was afraid this whole recipe would be botched. But NO!!! Holy holy holy… even with all of that. This is so dang GOOD!!!!!! I feel like a culinary boss right now. I can’t wait to get it right next time!
great curry
lovely meal and one of our starter meal to reduce our meat-eating.
We do not miss it at all.
This has been a go-to recipe for many months for my boyfriend and me. Love how it tastes and how it doesn't require much time or work!
I am so blown away at how easy and delicious this is! One of my friends posted this recipe on IG and I had to try it. Thank you for making vegan cooking easy, delicious and healthy! Wow!
This recipe taste so good that even my non-veggie husband forgot that it didn't had any meat & ask me to do it again !!! (and this doesn't happen very often) Thanks PUL team!!
Thank you so much for this incredible recipe!! I don't typically leave reviews, but this was too good. I have two particularly picky under-10s and to my pleasant surprise, they both loved it! I was able to use green/brown lentils and cooked them for slightly less time, I went a little light on paprika and heavy on cumin, and garnished with lime, chopped kale, cashew pieces, and a little extra drizzle of coconut milk (I personally love extra coconut-y flavors, but not everyone in our family does). Instead of using basmati, I reheated previously cooked jasmine rice with a little coconut milk to rehydrate it and that worked well. Definitely making again!
I can’t wait to try this! Is there any way to substitute coconut milk for something a little more slim lol 😬😄
An easy and delicious recipe for dal. Makes great leftovers. I enjoyed it with chili peppers for garnish. After making this recipe I started adding cardamom pods to basmati rice when I make other Indian-inspired recipes as well!
This is one of my favourite recipes. I cooked it many times. Its great benefit is that it freezes very well, perfect for meal prepping :)
This is definitely one of my favourite dhal recipes out there. I didn't have ginger on hand so I left it out, but I can only imagine how even more warming the dish is with it. It is truly comfort food. I generally don't like food smells in my home, but dhal is the exception. It just smells so nice and warm, like a delicious hug. Excellent for meal prep - my master thesis writing brain will appreciate it in the days to come.
This is one of my absolute favorite recipes! I love adding addition veggies (peas and/or spinach especially) and it is wonderful for meal prep. I do tend to be a little heavy handed with the spices. This recipe also goes great with naan.
I have made this countless times. So so good and easy to make!
This is one of many PUL recipes that is a weekly staple for me. I include whatever veggies I need to use up, and it's always amazing and so easy to pull together. I usually make the naan recipe to go with it and it feels like decadent restaurant food right out of my own kitchen. My husband and I enjoy so many of your recipes, we talk about PUL all the time! The new website is beautiful and I LOVE the scaling feature - I usually halve this recipe and it's perfect for two with just the right amount of leftovers. Thank you Sadia and your team, for this beautiful and welcoming food community you have created! xo
My favourite daal recipe EVER! I’ve taught it to my fiancé too & he makes it perfectly! This is definitely his favourite home-cooked meal that we make <3
I’ll be honest, I had never even had lentils before trying this recipe… now, it’s a go-to recipe in our house! Vibrant flavors, easy to make, reheats perfectly (great for meal prep), and I’ve thrown in any and all veggies I’ve had left over in my fridge and it’s ALL perfect with this!
I've made this recipe more times than I can count, and it's just as easy and delicious every time. It keeps me feeling full and makes for great leftovers.
A few changes I've made:
1) I'll usually double or triple the amount of carrots. I've also tried throwing in a number of different veggies as well--peas, sweet potatoes, spinach--and it's delicious every time.
2) I prefer standard brown lentils in this over the red. Both taste similar, but I find that brown/green lentils offer more of a texture variation from the rice (though the resulting green-brown stew certainly isn't as pretty).
3) I just use two cups vegetable broth instead of the water + bouillon cube. And when I'm in a pinch, subbing ground ginger for fresh and brown rice for basmati has worked just fine.
Long story short, it's hard to mess this one up. Highly recommend!
This one tastes like India in a bowl with that divine combination of aromas! It makes for an excelled make-ahead meal for about 3-4 days.
I have been making this dish for two years. Still my favourite! Thank you:)
I've never tried daal before, but this recipe was so delicious! It's so comforting, and I love how all the spices melded well with the coconut milk!
This is a recipe I keep coming back to make over and over. It uses ingredients I typically already have on hand and it so delicious! Comes together very quickly I definitely recommend!
Hi Sadia,
We are planning to make this yummy sounding and looking dish, but I have one question. Where do you get your boillon cubes?
The ones I know of have lots of additives.
Thank you so much.
Fauzia
Delicious recipe! The full-fat coconut milk makes this dish so creamy, I love it.
WOW I am blown away by your new website. This must be the best recipe website around.
I'm putting this recipe on my menu list for the week and cannot wait to try it.