Red Lentil Dal with Charred Onions

9 Reviews
ADD YOUR REVIEW
Randy Mayor; Leigh Ann Ross
Yield
7 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
By Jaime Harder, MA, RD
October 2007
RECIPE BY Cooking Light

Quick-cooking red lentils don't need to be pureed since they break down as they cook. Lentils are a great source of protein, as well as fiber. This recipe gives 20 percent of your daily fiber goal. Serve over brown rice with a side of broccoli for a vegetarian meal.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
  • 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 whole clove
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 dried hot red chile
  • 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 4 cups organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
  • 1 cup dried small red lentils
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Nutritional Information

  • Calories 149
  • Caloriesfromfat 17%
  • Fat 2.8g
  • Satfat 0.3g
  • Monofat 1.6g
  • Polyfat 0.3g
  • Protein 8.4g
  • Carbohydrate 23.6g
  • Fiber 5.5g
  • Cholesterol 0.0mg
  • Iron 2.1mg
  • Sodium 354mg
  • Calcium 33mg

How to Make It

Step 1

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; cook 2 minutes or until charred. Carefully turn over onion, and cook an additional 4 minutes or until blackened and charred. Remove from heat. Coarsely chop; set aside.

Step 2

Combine mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and clove in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook 1 1/2 minutes or until fragrant, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Combine mustard mixture, cinnamon, cardamom, and chile in spice or coffee grinder. Pulse until ground.

Step 3

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a small Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute. Stir in spices; sauté 1 minute. Add broth, lentils, and tomato to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover; add onion, and cook 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro and juice.

Chef's Notes

MyRecipes is working with Let's Move!, the Partnership for a Healthier America, and USDA's MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to a trove of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.

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Ratings & Reviews

LissaMarie85's Review

harrietlynns
March 21, 2014
I used ground spices and it turned out great! Like other reviewers I added less broth. I charred the onions using my oven's broiler for 10 minutes (with a stir halfway through). I served it with Basmati rice. I will definitely make this again!

Clobberella422's Review

Palkscancook
February 27, 2012
These were really good. I just used pre-ground spices, but didn't change anything else, though I think I would leave out the clove next time as that taste seemed to overpower the other flavors a bit. Per other reviews, I left out some of the broth so they didn't end up too soupy. A bit of plain yogurt on top adds creaminess and tames some of the strong flavors.

KLHay22's Review

crayton8
December 30, 2011
Love the spice in this dish! Followed the recipe but added chopped mushrooms 20 minutes into the simmering and then folded in fresh baby spinach until wilted at the end. Made it more of a thicker main dish. Freezes great!

Palkscancook's Review

Steeno
October 13, 2011
I found this to be delicious! I also found it to be a little soupy. I would add less broth next time, decrease it by about 1/2 cup. It is delicious on rice, leftovers, & I'm sure it would be great in a pita with some greens.

Steeno's Review

LissaMarie85
October 16, 2010
We, too, did not have all the spices called for, but it was still excellent. I used red onion and we put it into fresh, warm pitas. It was really tasty!

crayton8's Review

Clobberella422
October 14, 2010
This turned out to be DELICIOUS! I made a lot of substitutions. I used all ground spices except for fresh garlic and fresh ginger. I did not have mustard or cardamon. Instead of a dried chili I used red pepper flakes and cayenne. Because of all the substitutions I was concerned the flavor would suffer, but this really was great! I served it over brown rice. The only thing I will change the next time I make it is to use a bit less liquid as I had to let it cook longer to get it to the consistency I wanted.

harrietlynns's Review

KLHay22
September 09, 2010
We really enjoyed this tonight. It was the perfect WW-friendly side to our chicken kebabs and fresh mango chutney. I made a couple of modification -- mainly pureeing about 1/3 of it before adding the onions to give it a creamier texture. Read all about it at: http://mommyporch.blogspot.com/2010/09/dal-with-browned-onions.html

Hollypop's Review

Hollypop
August 03, 2010
N/A

fleance's Review

fleance
June 25, 2009
I enjoyed this recipe--it's not that special but hearty and satisfying, especially as a vegan, cost-conscious option. I made some minor changes since I don't have a spice grinder: only cooked the mustard seeds in the skillet, then left them whole, and used 1/2 tsp garam masala to substitute for the other spices. Also used a few shakes of red pepper flakes instead of the whole red pepper. Also, I found it to still have a lot of liquid after cooking so I reduced it for another 20 minutes. Could have been due to the smaller pot I was using. Served with brown rice, it was delicious.