Amazing Red Lentil Dahl

Oil Free and low fat dahl that everyone will enjoy!

This recipe has become a weekly go to for lunches and dinners. I love it when we find something that we both really like as well as so easy to make. It's great served over brown rice & greens; just brown rice; or alone as a soup. It's just that good.

So many Dahl recipes are made with full fat coconut milk. Well, I read about a shortcut in the Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease cookbook from Ann Esselstyn... use a plant based milk that is low in fat with no added oil and add coconut extract! It's that easy and I'll show you how in this recipe.

My first suggestion is always to read the recipe all the way through before beginning anything. Make sure this is a recipe you want to take on and one you feel confident making. Create a grocery list of everything you don't already have on hand including any serving suggestions; in this case brown rice, greens (kale, spinach, chard, etc.), and/or bread (naan, baguette, etc.).

I, then, pull all of the ingredients, pans, utensils, measuring cups/spoons out of the refrigerator, cabinets, drawers, etc. to make double sure I have everything I need to get started. With this recipe I start the rice first according to the package directions, since that can cook while I prepare the dahl, then I'm not waiting on anything to finish while the main dish sits cooking all of my liquid away.

Ok, let's begin...

Red Lentil Dahl

About 6 Servings

Ingredients

• Soup pot or sauté pan (wide flat bottom, and high vertical sides)

• 1 ½ cup cry red lentils

• 2 carrots - rinsed and diced small

• ½ red bell pepper - diced small

• ¼ onion - diced small

• 4 cloves of garlic - minced

• 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

• 3 cups vegetable broth - *See Note

• 1 cup plant based milk (no oil added, low fat preferably)

• 1 tsp coconut extract

• 1½ tsp ground cumin

• 1 Tbsp curry powder

• ½ Tbsp sugar

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp paprika

Directions

1. Dice your vegetables, garlic and ginger.

2. Measure out your spices & sugar if you haven't done so already. Set aside. (I will measure all of my spices into one bowl so I can just dump it all in at once)

3. Measure out your lentils and vegetable broth. Set aside.

4. Whisk together plant based milk and coconut extract in a measuring cup. Set aside.

5. Add diced carrots, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, and ginger to pot/pan with 1/2 cup water and stir fry over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes. Stirring frequently and adding water as needed to prevent sticking.

6. Add spices & sugar and stir into vegetable mixture.

7. Add lentils and stir into vegetable & spice mixture.

8. Stir in vegetable broth and raise heat to bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer for about 12 minutes. Stirring occasionally (I set a timer for every 4 minutes so I can complete other tasks while this is cooking).

9. Stir in "coconut" milk and bring back to a simmer, then cook for another 5 minutes or until desired thickness is reached. Stirring every minute or so.

10. Serve over rice, greens, and/or with a side of bread.

11. Season with salt & pepper at the table to taste.

Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base

NOTE: I use a jarred vegetable base and add water to create a broth. So, if you are using this, at Step 4 add in 1 Tbsp base and stir in with the spices. Then at Step 6, just stir in 3 cups of water.

As I said, this is great served over a bed of greens, then brown basmati rice; just over rice; or alone as a soup in a bowl with some great bread for dipping. Let me know how you prefer it in the comments and enjoy this guilt-free meal.