Green Lentil Dal Makhani
A creamy, decadent green lentil dal makhani style curry that is simple to make at home in one pot! Serve this vegetarian delight with naan bread or rice.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 6 small cloves of garlic, sliced
- 1 Tbsp ginger, crushed
- 4 small - medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds, crushed, see notes
- ½ tsp chili powder, see notes
- 1 Tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 200 g (1 cup) dried green lentils
- 400 g (14 oz) can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 60 ml (0.25 cups) double cream / heavy cream
- 25 g (2 tbsp) salted butter
- salt & pepper to taste
- ½ bunch cilantro (fresh coriander), for topping
Instructions
- In a medium-large saucepan, heat a glug of olive oil and saute the onion until soft.
- Add the garlic, ginger, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. Mix for another minute or so until the fragrances start to release.
- Add the tomatoes a half of the butter (holding the rest back to mix in at the end) and simmer for around 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until they break down and start to reduce.
- Add the chili powder, turmeric and garam masala and stir through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the kidney beans, green lentils and 2.5 cups (600ml) of water.
- Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are soft. (That's just a minimum - you can leave it simmering longer if you like.)
- Remove from the heat. Stir in the cream and butter.
- Let set for about 5 minutes before serving, with cilantro (coriander) for topping.
Notes
1/2 tsp chili powder gives the curry a tiny bit of spice to it, but it's mild. Add more if you prefer a hotter curry, or reduce / omit if you don't want any spicy kick at all.
Fenugreek seeds can be swapped for mustard or fennel seeds if needed.
If you don't use fresh tomatoes, you could swap in about 1 cup of passata (pureed tomatoes) or a few Tbsps of tomato paste. If you use tomato paste, add some extra water.
I don't peel my tomatoes, so there are some bits of tomato skin mixed in with the dal, which I have zero problem with, but you could take the extra step of peeling them if you wish. Score the skins with a knife, let them sit in boiling water for a minute or two, and the skins should peel off easily.
You can swap brown lentils for green lentils, no problem.
If you prefer a smoother finish, you can use an immersion blender to blend a little bit of the dal until you get the texture you like.
Nutritional information is based on a portion that is 1/4th of the recipe.
Calories: 409kcal, Carbohydrates: 56g, Protein: 21g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 319mg, Potassium: 1159mg, Fiber: 23g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 1578IU, Vitamin C: 24mg, Calcium: 109mg, Iron: 7mg