Delicious Spicy Lentil Dal for a Sensational Seasonal Warm-Up!
This Spicy Lentil Dal recipe was certainly inspired by the weather for me! We all know that feeling of really wanting something warm delicious that speaks to the soul while filling our bellies and I believe that is exactly what happened to me creating this recipe. I wanted to bring ingredients together that would satisfy so many elements and to have the biggest gratification payoff as it warmed my belly knowing there were all these glorious ingredients in it.
Jump to RecipeOne of the biggest proponents of making your own dishes at home is having quality ingredients from mother earth to your kitchen. It is much easier to rely on the meals that you make in-home for a few different reasons. First, the ingredients are quite recognizable, and we are familiar with the components. Secondly, the recipe ingredients are easy to resource from a local grocery store include lentils, garlic, onions, ginger, carrots, cookout milk, and tomatoes. Thirdly, these classic ingredients take simple and healthy ingredients and transform them into a classic dish with varying degrees of creative liberties.
Start with a large enameled Dutch oven or a large pot with a lid. Heat a little oil and then get those chopped onions cooking until they appear translucent. I wait for those few minutes before adding the garlic and ginger to be sure to not burn the more delicate ingredients. Add the carrots alongside and then get those great spices in there. The kitchen aroma will be taken to a whole new level! Next, add your fresh diced tomatoes, rinsed lentils, and water or broth to the pan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes. Adding in the coconut milk is done at the end of cooking time and heated quickly within the dal. Garnish with the fresh cilantro and you can stir it right in. As with many flavorful recipes like dal, it gets better and better each time you warm it up due to the fact the spices and flavors have had a little time to get to know each other in the dish.
Many recipes are to be used as a guide or a template for a healthy eating lifestyle and designed to be able to reasonably substitute different ingredients when something may not be available or in season. Many times, a recipe can be tweaked given what is already in the fridge or in the pantry. We have gotten so far away from basic cooking skills and relying on someone else to be preparing the meals that we do not have that intuitive cooking skill sharpened and thus leaves us with a bit of food fatigue and lack of ideas for dinner. This may just sum up our time in lockdown and really getting to know our kitchens again.
With everyone concerned about health and wellness these days, it can be easy to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your everyday diet. When we create meals of our own, we can have more than one produce item included! This recipe includes fresh tomatoes from our friends at Pure Flavor® Georgia Grown Tomatoes On-the-Vine and grown locally as they proudly display a “Georgia Grown” emblem on each one! We can feel good about knowing where our food comes from and feel good with quality produce. With the vine still attached to the tomato, we know this is as fresh as it gets and thus reflected in the recipe for its fresh and delicious flavor as well as nutrition.
This Spicy Lentil Dal recipe is the perfect cold-weather meal that keeps on giving! When you make recipes like this, you are securing a few future meals that are even more delicious as the flavors and spices have time to come together and enhance the recipe. You can certainly pair this Spicy Lentil Dal with rice, orzo, or naan bread. There are some gluten-free options like chickpea rice that are quite hearty and go with this kind of dish. With all the freshness and goodness in this recipe, I believe it will be part of a great meal rotation for your family go-to meals and quite easy to put together with fresh produce like the delicious fresh vine-ripened tomatoes from our friends at Pure Flavor® Georgia Grown Tomatoes On-the-Vine and pantry staples like lentils and spices that are readily available and easy on the budget. Keep it warm and keep it fresh!
Spicy Lentil Dal with Fresh Tomatoes
Equipment
- Large pot with lid
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3-5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp red pepper chili flakes
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 cups Pure Flavor® GeorgiaGrown Tomatoes On-the-Vine, diced
- 1 cup dry lentils, green or brown, rinsed and drained
- 2-1/2 cups water or veggie broth
- 1-13.5 oz can coconut milk
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- In a large pan or Dutch oven, heat oil on medium-high for 1 minute. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Then, add chopped garlic, ginger, and diced carrots for an additional 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in spices of turmeric, cumin, coriander, red chili flakes, sea salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine. Add a few tablespoons of water if needed to prevent drying out.
- Next, add the fresh diced tomatoes, rinsed lentils, and 2 ½ cups water or broth to pan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut milk and season with additional sea salt and pepper if desired. Stir until combined and heat to serve over a bed of rice, orzo, or naan bread. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
