This green lentils dal recipe is a must-try if you're craving an easy nutritious vegan meal. Loaded with green lentils, spices, and aromatic herbs, this homemade dal is both simple to make and perfect for easy weeknight meals.
I absolutely love this easy and fuss-free lentil curry recipe, perfect for quick and healthy mid-week meals or busy weekends. It combines the goodness of green lentils with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and a blend of flavourful spices.
Whether you choose to cook it in instant pot pressure cooker for a dump-and-go experience or on the stovetop with a separate cooking method, this protein-rich and plant-based lentil curry is a comforting and nutritious choice. Serve it with rice or roti and spicy Indian chickpea peanut salad for a satisfying and wholesome meal.
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💛Why You'll Love this Recipe?
- Easy to make: This recipe is straightforward and uncomplicated, requiring minimal effort and kitchen skills.
- Packed with flavours: The combination of spices, herbs, and aromatic ingredients creates a deliciously rich and satisfying taste experience.
- Versatile: Whether you prefer it with rice, bread, or as a soup, this dal adapts well to different serving options, allowing you to enjoy it in various ways.
- Dietary needs: Suitable for Vegans, Vegetarians and those on Gluten free diet.
- Easy to scale up or down: You can adjust the quantities to prepare a larger batch for gatherings or scale it down for a single serving, making it flexible to suit your specific needs.
📋Key Ingredients
Green lentils dal contains a number of ingredients. Most of them are easy to find at your local grocery store. Let's talk about the most important ones.
- Green lentils: The star ingredient is slightly pale green in color. It's packed with protein, fibre, and various vitamins and minerals. You can replace haf or substitute with Brown lentils, Yellow lentils, Red Lentils, Masoor Dal, or Toor dal for a change.
- Onion: I use White onion, but Red onion or shallots can be used as well.
- Tomato: Highly recommend using fresh tomatoes for dhal.
- Ginger garlic: I prefer Fresh ginger and garlic. For convenience use ready-made ginger garlic paste, available in jars.
- Chilli: Provides a spicy kick to the dish. Adjust the amount of green chilli and kasmiri red chilli powder to suit your taste preferences.
- Spices: A blend of turmeric, chilli powder, cumin, coriander, and asafoetida infuse the dal with its unique flavour.
- Optional Spinach or any other greens: I would add it for my iron intake and the vibrant green colour it adds to the dal. You can also incorporate other greens such as kale, methi, or dill.
🔪How to Make Green Lentils Dal?
Instant pot method
I start by cooking the green lentils with water, turmeric, green chilli and salt in the Instant Pot for about 6 minutes on high pressure. Then, all you have to do is add a flavorful tarka , garnish it with fresh coriander, and finish it off with a squeeze of fresh lime. It doesn't get any easier than this!
Stove top method
I recommend cooking the lentils separately for about 20-30 minutes and draining any excess water. Meanwhile, you can cook the remaining ingredients separately on a skillet and then add the cooked lentils to the mix. Give it a good stir, and voila! Your delicious Green Lentil dal is ready to be enjoyed.
🍽What to Serve with Green Lentil Dal?
- Pair with white rice, brown rice, or other grains such as quinoa for a satisfying and wholesome meal.
- Enjoy alongside roti, garlic naan bread, or yogurt flatbread to complement the flavours of the dal.
- Create a comforting Indian feast by serving the dal with paneer curry or mushroom curry, roti, yellow pilau rice, onion bhaji, kachumber salad, and cucumber raita.
❄️Storing Leftovers
- In the fridge: Transfer the cooled green lentils dal to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days. Divide the dal into smaller portions for easier reheating later on. To reheat on the stovetop or microwave, add a splash of water to have a desired consistency.
- In the freezer: Allow the dal to cool, then store the leftover dal in freezer-safe containers or bags for up to 3 months. Perfect for batch cooking.
- Reheat: When reheating frozen dal, it's best to thaw it in the fridge overnight. You can also reheat frozen dal directly on the stove or in the microwave.
❓Recipe FAQ
When cooking Green lentils on a stovetop, use a large saucepan. Add the lentils and enough water to cover them. Don't cover the pot too tightly to prevent boiling over. Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are just tender, skimming any foam that forms. Green lentils typically take about 20-30 minutes. If you prefer them softer, cook for 30 minutes or until tender.
For cooking Green lentils in an Instant Pot, place the washed lentils and water in the inner pot. Secure the lid, set the vent to seal, and pressure cook on HIGH for 6 minutes, followed by a natural pressure release (NPR).
Lentils, beans, and rice can contain debris and dirt. While typical packaging might not explicitly mention rinsing lentils, it's essential to rinse green lentils in fresh water at least 4-5 times until the water runs clear. This thorough washing helps remove potential dirt, starch, and foam.
More Easy Dal Recipes
Easy Green Lentil recipe below
Ingredients
For cooking the lentils
- 1 cup green lentils rinsed (200g)
- 2½ - 3 cups water
- 1 green chilli optional
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- salt to taste
For Tarka
- 2 tablespoon oil or ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 garlic clove minced
- 1 inch ginger grated
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 medium tomato diced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼-½ teaspoon red chili powder or sub kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- salt to taste
Garnishing
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or lime juice
- 2 tablespoon coriander leaves
Instructions
Stove Top Instructions
- Wash the lentils at least 4-5 times in water until clear. Drain and set it aside.1 cup green lentils
- In a saucepan, add lentils, 2½ cups of water, turmeric powder, and optionally, green chilies. Cover the saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat until the lentils are tender. Be sure to skim any foam that forms on the top. Cooking the lentils may require 20-30 minutes: 20 minutes for firm lentils and 30 minutes for soft lentils.2½ - 3 cups water, 1 green chilli, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- After the lentils have finished cooking, whisk them to achieve a smooth consistency. If the dal appears too thick, you can add an additional ¼ to ½ cup of water. Season with salt.salt to taste
Instant Pot Instructions
- Place the washed lentils, 3 cup of water, turmeric, salt, green chilies to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Secure the lid and turn the vent to sealing. Pressure cook on HIGH for 6 minutes and allow for the pressure to release naturally (NPR).1 cup green lentils, 2½ - 3 cups water, 1 green chilli, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, salt to taste
Tarka( Tempering)
- Heat oil/ ghee in a medium sklllet over medium heat. Once hot, add cumin seeds. Allow it to splutter. Add ginger, garlic, onion and fry for 3 minutes until translucent.Add the tomatoes, spice powders, salt and cook for 4-5 minutes.2 tablespoon oil or ghee, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 3 garlic clove, 1 inch ginger, 1 medium onion, 1 medium tomato, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ¼-½ teaspoon red chili powder or sub kashmiri red chili powder, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon turmeric, salt to taste
- Transfer the prepared Tarka to the dal and stir. Cook again for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add garam masala, fresh lemon juice, chopped fresh coriander and give it a stir. Serve hot with basmati rice and kachumber salad.½ teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or lime juice, 2 tablespoon coriander leaves
Red says
A mild tasting curry. I enjoyed it.
Sandhya Hariharan says
Glad you loved it Red. Add more chilli to add more heat to the green lentils dal recipe.
Mahima Marwaha says
I usually make dal with red lentils but this could be my new favorite. The green lentils hold up better and the flavor is wonderful. Mine came out a bit spicy but perfect for me.
Mahima Marwaha says
What a lovely recipe. Superb flavour. A real winner.
Mahima Marwaha says
Thank you for a delicious green dal recipe.
Drew says
I usually make dal with red lentils but this could be my new favorite. The green lentils hold up better and the flavor is wonderful. Mine came out a bit spicy but perfect for me.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Thats simply amazing to know! This recipe for green lentils is a staple at home and I would happily use it for brown lentils too.
Farrukh Patel says
Just made this green daal curry. Was very delicious. Will definitely make again. Thank you!
Sandhya Hariharan says
That's amazing to know Farrukh! Thank you for a lovely review on our easy green lentils dal recipe.
Marcus says
What a lovely recipe. Superb flavour. A real winner.