If you don’t make any recipe on this blog, you must make this one! Gah! It is soooo good and uses a combination of lentils and mung beans. Two of my favorites when it comes to legumes and living a plant-based lifestyle. Both are low in sodium and saturated fat, and excellent sources of protein, potassium, fiber and folate. In adapting this recipe from The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food by Marcus Samuelsson, I omitted the olive oil and added fresh spinach to get in even more plants.

Why no oil? It is a source of concentrated fats void of any nutritional value. When we extract oil from seeds, the nutritional benefits are left behind in the discarded solids. Look at the nutrition label of any oil you use, and you will see no vitamins or minerals in the oil unless they were added, as in fortified oils. Oil is often used in recipes for added flavor, richness and heartiness but trust me, this recipe is full of flavor, rich and hearty, without the empty calories of oil. Unsure about sautéing vegetables without oil? Check out the tips I shared in this blog post.

This Lentil Dal was such a hit I made it twice in a week because my family couldn’t get enough of it! I hope you can’t get enough of it too!

Servings: 6-8 (depending on bowl size)

INGREDIENTS

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cayenne

1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes

4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup dried mung beans

1 cup dried yellow lentils

1 (15.5 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk

8 oz bag of fresh spinach

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a medium stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add a little water if the onion starts to stick. NOTE: Vegetables like onions, carrots, and bell peppers do well with little water added, and by not adding water right away, they can brown some, which is one way to build flavor. By not adding water in the beginning of the process, you make sure that water is released from the vegetables, which concentrates their flavor. — Chef Del

2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Add the turmeric, cumin, and cayenne and cook, stirring frequently, until toasted and fragrant, about 1 minute.

4. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for about a minute.

5. Pour in the vegetable stock.

6. Add the mung beans to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring up to a simmer. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the mung beans are just tender, about 30 minutes.

7. Add the lentils. Bring back up to a simmer and then reduce the heat to low and cook until the lentils are completely tender, the mung beans are beginning to break down, and the dal is beginning to thicken, about 30 minutes.

8. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for another 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

9. Add the spinach during the last few minutes and cook until wilted.

10. Ladle dal into a bowl over jasmine rice or grain of choice. Enjoy!

NUTRITION FACTS FOR THIS RECIPE CAN BE FOUND HERE.

The information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. I provide approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only.

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I love cooking soups and stews in my Cooks Standard 7-quart Dutch oven. My favorite yellow lentils are Timeless Harvest Gold. They are quick cooking, perfect for soups and are 100% certified organic, grown in Montana on small family farms. Pride of India are my go-to whole mung beans.

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