Coconut Lentils with Caramelized Onions

Red lentils and caramelized onions in a sweet coconut sauce. A creamy, mild and naturally sweet dish that is simple to prepare and works well as a side dish or a main meal with rice. These coconut lentils are vegetarian, vegan and great for babies and kids. 

This was our first family meal for threeeeeee.

As well as being incredibly yummy served with rice or alongside your fave curry recipe, these coconut lentils are not too shabby as one of your baby’s first foods.

After a series of boring plain veggies, I decided it was high time Veggie Jr ate something normal. I pureed it smooth and watered it down for her, since she was just 6 months old, and so her love affair with curried dishes began.

That said, please don’t be put off by the idea that this is baby food.

Nope nope nope.

These curried lentils make for a super flavorful and healthy dish for anyone . They are sweet and mild, so they go well alongside something spicier.

I love to serve them with some crispy paneer and pepper skewers, but they can certainly be served for dinner on their own with rice and bread.

Using caramelized onions as a base means that there is a ton of umami and flavor there (which makes it easier to go without salt – a new challenge for my cooking now that we have a little one at the table!)

And if you’re not making it for small people you can up the spices and salt level to your heart’s content. Have fun with this and make it your own!

Coconut Lentils with Caramelized Onions

Red lentils and caramelized onions in a sweet coconut sauce. A creamy, mild and naturally sweet dish that is simple to prepare and works well as a side dish or a main meal with rice. These coconut lentils are vegetarian, vegan and great for babies and kids.

6 -8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

4.89 from 17 ratings

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Ingredients

• 4 small white onions, thinly sliced
• Coconut oil or butter
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ tsp grated ginger, or more, to taste
• 1 tsp mild curry powder, or more, to taste
• 2 cups (420 g) dried red lentils
• 1 can full fat coconut milk, (400g or 14oz size)

Instructions 

• First, caramelize your onions. Put them in a large saucepan with some butter or coconut oil, and saute over a very low heat (the lowest setting possible) for around 45 minutes.  Stir frequently. You want them to be super soft, melty and brown.
• Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder and stir in for a few minutes until all the fragrance comes out and the garlic is close to browning.
• Add the dried lentils, coconut milk and 3 cups of boiling water. Bring to the boil, and simmer for between 20 minutes and 1 hour depending on how soft you’d like your lentils to be. The longer you leave them simmering, the more they will melt and turn creamy. You may also wish to add more water if they get too thick.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

If you’re preparing this for a baby, be sure to use unsalted butter and do not add any salt. Take out a few spoonfuls and puree with a hand blender or food processor if desired.

Cuisine: Indian Inspired

Author: Christine

Serving: 1g, Calories: 200kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 4mg, Sodium: 139mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 2g

Source: I adapted this from Budget Bytes.