Home » Special Diet » Vegetarian » Curried Lentils with Kale and Coconut Milk (Masoor Dal)
4.9 from 62 reviews
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This curried lentil recipe, a vegan one-pot wonder, is spiced with turmeric, mustard seeds, cumin, and fresh ginger. Coconut milk offers a richness and subtle sweetness, balancing out the heat and spice. A heap of kale (or spinach) makes it a meal.
It’s getting to bethattime of year: when nothing is sounding particularly delicious, when I’m over roasting root vegetables, when I’m not craving anything, when I find myself staring at the pantry, then inevitably reaching for the lentils and spices and coconut milk.
I’m not even sure why I made this recipe — I have two other curried lentil recipes that I love — but as I reflected (as one does after eating lentils?), I realized there were several influences:
- The promising title: 10 Minutes to the Richest Indian Soup.
- The accompanying enticing photo of a brilliant yellow broth laced with wilting greens.
- The realization that this new curry essentially combined the favorite elements of both lentil recipes I love — the ginger and coconut milk from one, the amped-up spices from the other — with the added bonus of a heap of spinach, making it a one-bowl wonder.
How to Make Curried Lentils
This is the basic process for making curried lentils:
- Starting by sweating onions and garlic until soft.
- Add spices — turmeric, coriander, cumin seed, fennel, crushed red pepper flakes, mustard seeds, and ginger — and cook for a minute or two.
- Add lentils and liquid: here we use a combination of water and coconut milk.
- Finishing with some sort of garnish (optional).
This is a dish that can be tailored to your liking by adding more or less of any of the spices, and it’s forgiving, too — if you don’t have a spice or two, it will likely turn out well anyway.
This version comes from Milk Street, and I’ve made a few small changes, which I’ve noted below. The most significant difference is the use of French green lentils, which hold their shape, in addition to red, which break down. The combination of textures is nice.
PS: Addictive Black Lentils with Spinach and Labneh
Here’s the play by play: Gather your ingredients.
These are the two types of lentils I use:
A microplane is great for finely grating ginger.
Sweat the minced onion and smashed whole garlic cloves in coconut (or other) oil.
Add the spices.
Add the lentils, water, and coconut milk and simmer for about 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop up some kale or other greens.
Stir them in.
Serve!
Curried Lentils with Kale and Coconut Milk (Masoor Dal)
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
4.9 from 62 reviews
- Author: Alexandra Stafford
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4-6
Save Recipe
Description
Adapted from Milk Street‘s recipe for Goan lentil curry (masoor dal).
I’ve made a few small changes:
- In place of fennel, I’ve used cumin. The two spices are not similar, but I like cumin, and I like cumin in curries. You could certainly use both.
- I like to toast the cumin and coriander seeds and grind them in a mortar and pestle, but using pre-ground spices is fine.
- I like to use two kinds of lentils: French green lentils, which hold their shape, and red lentils, which break down. You certainly could use all red, which is what the recipe calls for.
- I’ve use kale in place of spinach.
- I omit the coconut and tomato garnish.
Don’t be afraid to make this ahead of time — it’s even tastier on day two. Recipe doubles well, too.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or peanut oil (or olive oil)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped, to yield 1-1.5 cups
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons yellow or brown mustard seeds
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin or fennel
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 31⁄2 cups water
- 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1/2 cup red lentils
- 1/2 cup French green lentils
- 6 ounces kale (or baby spinach), about 6 cups, leaves removed from stems, roughly chopped
- fresh lime, for serving, optional
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium-high, combine the oil, onion, garlic and 1 teaspoon salt. When you hear a sizzle, cover the pot, turn heat to low, and cook, stirring every so often, until the onion has softened and is just beginning to color, 7 to 9 minutes. Stir in the ginger, the mustard seeds, turmeric, coriander, fennel and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the water, coconut milk, lentils, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, then bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover and simmer, stirring once or twice, until the lentils have broken down, 40 to 50 minutes.
- Stir in the kale and return to a simmer. Taste and season with salt if desired. Serve immediately or cool and refrigerate for a future day — it’s good cold straight from the fridge.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Indian
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Winter Favorites Dinner Kale Weeknight Dinners Gluten-free Vegetarian Fall Vegan
« Previous PostCarrot-Ginger Soup with Curry and Coconut Milk
Next Post »Baked Spaghetti Squash with Garlicky Chickpeas
Want to Chop Like a Pro?
Get your free 8-video tutorial
Leave a Comment & Rate this Recipe
Sophia —Reply
This recipe is SO good and so easy. I used red lentils and black lentils – we ate this with grilled chicken and are having again tonight with roasted salmon.
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Yum! And yay! So great to read all of this. Thank you for writing 🙂
Madeleine Cornwell —Reply
I made a double recipe of this today, and we had it for lunch over quinoa or white jasmine rice. I must admit, I played with the recipe a little bit, because I didn’t have all the exact ingredients. Also, I made the flavor a little more robust, as we like dal, with addition of more garlic, garam masala and curry powder. It was so good, and it was a hit with my husband! Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Just like you played with the original recipe, I also did with yours. Funny how we all like to do that kind of thing and recipes evolve over generations 🙂
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
So true! Great to read all of this, Madeleine 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks for writing and sharing.
AJ —Reply
I’m sorry, not trying to be a hater, but dal just means lentils. It’s a blank slate, like rice or potatoes. No need to reinvent the wheel because you added spices.
Also, you should ALWAYS play with the original recipe. Everyone’s tastes are different. Taste and adjust as you cook and you’ll always be happy with the finished product.
Jessamin —Reply
This was great. I made this for a week of work lunches for one, and had about 3/4 of a mason jar of leftovers to stash in the freezer for another day. The only change I made was that I put the kale in at the same time as the lentils, as I wanted super tender greens. This was a healthy lunch that kept me fill through the afternoon and I’ll def make it again. Thanks!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Great to hear, Jessamin! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your tips about the kale. Sounds delicious.
KNS —Reply
I made this tonight so I would have dinners for the week and have NO regrets. Flavors pack a punch and I paired it with garlic naan. Yum.
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Yay! Great to hear. Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Jennifer —Reply
This recipe has become a staple in my household. I’ve added store bought green curry in addition to the spices in this recipe, not as substitute. For time saving purposes sometimes I have used lentils in a pouch. This dish is so flavorful and delicious every time. Thank you!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Great to hear, Jennifer 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks for writing!
Alison —Reply
My husband and I loved this. I used the fennel seed because it sounded like a nice change from our usual cumin-heavy cooking. It was great! I served over rice with cilantro and sliced jalapeño. Just like Ali said, it was delicious cold the next day.
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
So nice to hear this, Alison 🙂 Slice jalapeño sounds delicious.
Maureen Griffo —Reply
5 stars! Absolutely delicious ! Made a day ahead and the flavor was so good. Made homemade pitas to soak up with. Will definitely make again.
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Great to hear, Maureen! Thanks so much for writing. Sounds like a perfect meal 🙂
Lucibeth —Reply
Hey!! LOVE this recipe!! Has anyone tried to freeze it? Does it freeze well?
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
It freezes great! Go for it 🙂
Mary —Reply
Wow– when I half heartedly typed in “lentil kale recipe” into Google to use the random things left in my kitchen before I go out of town, I did not expect to end up with a dish I love so much that I will be making it again! I subbed in 2 tsp of garam masala in place of the spices I didn’t have, and put in the kale with the lentils so I could utilize the kale stems and get them nice and soft. So flavorful and delicious – thank you!!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Wonderful to read this, Mary! Thanks so much for writing. This is one of my favorites 🙂 🙂 🙂 Great tip on subbing the garam masala in place of the spices… easy!
Anonymous —Reply
Dani M —Reply
This was so good. Like another reviewer, I just looked up a recipe with coconut milk, lentils and kale. I was not expecting to get such a great recipe. I doubled the recipe and added diced potatoes and diced chicken tenderloins. I served this over coconut rice. Husband has asked this to be in the rotation again.
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Great to hear, Dani! Thanks so much for writing and sharing these notes. Love the sound of all of it 🙂
