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easiest vegan dal

Dinner Recipe

Vegan Lentil and Chickpea Dal

Posted on February 27, 2023
easy chickpea and lentils dal vegan

Easy Vegan Lentil and Chickpea Dal

This lentil and chickpea dal is naturally vegan friendly, creamy and easy to make. Rich in protein with the added chickpeas, it makes a delicious and nutritious meal. Bulk cook this to make for the week ahead.

What goes into an easy dal?

Red lentils- these are such a great lentil for a dal, they absorb quickly, and cook quickly. It helps if you wash and soak them before cooking to cut down on the simmering time.

Chickpeas- Vegan’s love an excuse to get a bit more protein in each meal, this time it’s from chickpeas. They bulk out the dal as well as adding a great texture. 

Turmeric and Cumin- Nothing adventurous with these two spices, but they’re easy to get ahold of at the supermarket. A great combination for simple but tasty flavours.

Veggie stock- This is a great way to add in a little extra flavour instead of just using water. A basic stock cube will help add salt and a little flavour to the recipe.

Fresh lime- This is such a key ingredient as it slices through the creamy dal. The acidity really brings out all of the flavours from the ginger, garlic and chilli.

easy vegan chickpea and lentils dal

Cooking tips: 

Soak the lentils- Whilst chopping the garlic, onion and chilli, whack the lentils in a bowl of water just to help them soak. It cuts down the time to cook them.

Add a little more stock- Depending on how long you’ve soaked the lentils will depend on the stock. You might find the lentils are extra thirsty, so add a little water at a time if they soak too quickly.

Taste test- Try taste testing to see if you need a little more lime, chilli, salt or spice to the dish. 

 

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easy vegan chickpea and lentils dal

easy chickpea and lentils dal vegan

Lentil and Chickpea Dal

This lentil and chickpea dal is naturally vegan friendly, creamy and easy to make. Rich in protein with the added chickpeas, it makes a delicious and nutritious meal. Bulk cook this to make for the week ahead.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 17 minutes
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil or garlic olive oil
  • 1 thumb sized piece of ginger finely chopped
  • 1 red onion finely diced
  • 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1 green chilli finely chopped
  • 200 g red lentils
  • 400 g tinned chickpeas drained and rinsed
  • 400 ml veggie stock boiling water and stock cube
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tbsp cumin

Serve with:

  • 2 tbsp favourite chutney
  • poppadoms
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • salt to season

Instructions
 

  • Start by adding the oil to a large pot, placing on a low heat then fry off the chilli, onion and ginger for around 4 minutes before adding in the chopped garlic
  • Drain and rinse the chickpeas along with the lentils before adding to the pot, add in the turmeric and cumin, fry for a minute or two before adding the veggie stock, leave to bubble for around 15-20 minutes
  • Squeeze in the lime juice, a good pinch of salt and taste test, adding a little more spice if needed
  • Garnish with your favourite chutney and serve with chilli flakes, then mop up with a pack of poppadoms

Notes

You may need to add a little more water depending on how long you soaked the lentils for. Just add in around 50ml at a time so you don't end up with a watery dal.
Dinner Recipe

Easy Vegan Red Lentil Dal

Posted on January 19, 2023
Easy Vegan Red Lentil Dal

Easy Vegan Red Lentil Dal

This easy vegan red lentil dal is perfect for batch cooking. It takes 20 minutes to cook, this is perfect for week night dinners, leftovers and reheating. This dal is made with red split lentils which cook really quickly making them perfect for this recipe. You can soak the lentils for around 30 minutes before cooking, if you do make sure you don’t add as much water to the recipe.

What’s in the recipe?

Red split lentils- they cook quickly, they’re full of fibre and great at bulking out recipes. 

Ginger and chilli- the base of a good dal needs a balance of chilli, ginger, garlic and onions. In this recipe use around a large thumb sized piece of ginger, finely chopped. If you don’t like a spicy dal make sure to use a mild chilli so you still get flavour but without the heat.

Lime- a good recipe will have a balance of salt, acid, heat and fat. The acid comes from the lime which slices through the creaminess of the lentils.

The topping:

For the topping, chopped chilli, spring onions fried with mustard seeds and coriander seeds to give a bold flavour. If you fry the ingredients in an oil such as coconut oil it adds a fresh flavour as well as preventing the ingredients from burning.

Season to perfection, so taste test as you go adding a little more salt or chilli as you go.

easy vegan red lentil dal recipe

Cooking tips:

Soaking the lentils? If you’re soaking the lentils be sure to add less vegetable stock when cooking this recipe. The lentils will already have absorbed loads of water so you don’t want them going soggy.

Serve with lime slices and chilli flakes- Depending on how you like your dal, I think it helps to serve with additional lime and chilli flakes on top to add a little more flavour to each bowl.

Don’t drown the lentils-It’s easy to keep adding stock, but let the lentils absorb the water before adding any more if it’s looking dry. You don’t want to add too much stock and create a really runny dal.

Easy Vegan Red Lentil Dal

Easy Vegan Red Lentil Dal

This easy vegan red lentil dal is perfect for batch cooking. It takes 20 minutes to cook, this is perfect for week night dinners, leftovers and reheating.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 19 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 250 g red split dried lentils rinse until water runs clear
  • 1 thumb sized fresh ginger peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 shallots finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1 green chilli 1/2 finely chopped, save the other half
  • 1 lime
  • 1.1 l vegan stock (water and stock cube)
  • 1 heaped tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp salt

top with:

  • 1 tbsp neutral oil coconut is good
  • 3 finely chopped spring onions
  • 1/2 green chilli saved from earlier
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds

Serve with:

  • 70 g rice per person

Instructions
 

  • Start by finely chopping the ginger, shallots, garlic and chilli, add to a large pot with neutral oil, fry on a low-medium heat for around 6 minutes
  • Meanwhile wash the red lentils until the water runs clear, add into the pot, add in the turmeric and cumin and stir until coated
  • Boil the kettle, pour into a mixing bowl with the stock cube, dissolve then add to the pot of lentils, continue to simmer on a high heat for around 15-20 minutes until the lentils have absorbed the stock (it might need a little more water, so just keep an eye on the lentils)
  • Whilst the lentils cook, cook the rice (I usually use around 70g per person) by washing, then add to a pot, cover with water until the water sits no more than a pad of your finger over the level of rice. Bring to boil for around 8 minutes, then turn the heat off, lid on, leave to steam for the next 8-10 minutes
  • Squeeze a full lime into the dal, season generously with salt, then prepare the topping by chopping the spring onions and chil,i, add to a wok with neutral oil, the seeds and fry on a high heat for a few minutes before adding to the dal
  • Serve up the rice and dal and enjoy