This Sri Lankan red lentil dahl recipe takes only 30 minutes to make and is packed with aromatic herbs and spices. Perfect for dinnertime, this dish is easy to make and goes deliciously with chapati or pita.
Ingredients
For the dahl
- 400 ml water
- 800 ml coconut milk
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 1 lemon
- 320 grams red lentils
- 1 tsp ground tumeric
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
For the temper
- ½ onion
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 handful of curry leaves
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch of fresh coriander
To serve
- Lemon
- Handful of crispy onions
- Coriander leaves
- Chapati or pita
- Green chili sliced
Instructions
Before you start
- Soak and rinse the lentils thoroughly in cold water .
For the dahl
- Drain the lentils and transfer to a large pan with water, coconut milk, turmeric, cinnamon and cayenne, and simmer on a low heat uncovered for 25 minutes.
- Don’t add any salt at this stage as this will harden the lentils.
Make the temper
- While the lentils cook, finely dice the onion, garlic and coriander stalks (reserve the leaves for garnish).
- Heat the coconut oil in a medium frying pan.
- Once it starts to smoke add the fresh curry leaves if you have them, plus the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry powder, diced onion and garlic.
- Fry while stirring until the seeds start to pop and the onions start to soften.
- Set aside until needed.
Finish the dahl
- Once the lentils are cooked, turn off the heat and add the sea salt and zest of a lemon.
- Blend half the dahl in a blender, add the blended mix back in the pot and mix through (this will make the dahl extra creamy).
- Finish with a squeeze of lemon to lift the flavor and serve.
To serve
- Spoon the dahl into serving bowls, drizzle the temper mix over the top, and serve the tempered dahl with crispy onions, fresh green chilis, the reserved coriander leaves and a chapati or pita on the side.