Red split lentils cooked in a pan

Red split lentils cooked in a pan

Indian doesn’t have to mean heavy sauces and an extra hour at the gym. Here’s the healthy, satisfying and just as tasty alternative to your Friday night curry

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 1 hour

Vegetarian

Vegetarian, Low-fat, Super healthy, Dairy-free

Method

  1. Put the mung beans and lentils in a large saucepan and 3/4 fill with boiling water. Season and bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Using a large spoon, skim any scum off the surface.
  2. Add the turmeric and stir well. Partly cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until tender, adding more boiling water if it starts to become too dry - it should be even-textured.
  3. Heat 2 tsp oil in a frying pan and add the onion. After about a minute, add the garlic. When lightly golden add the tomato, ginger and chilli. Fry until it is a shiny, dry paste. Pour into the pan with the dhal and mix well. Stir in the garam masala. Top with coriander and red chillies.

Per serving

219 kcalories, protein 15.8g, carbohydrate 35g, fat 2.7 g, saturated fat 0.2g, fibre 3.1g, salt 0.6 g

Recipe from olive magazine, February 2006.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • 2008-02-26 09:59:25.189895

    SREHAN rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    easy to make - instead of weighing the 2 dhals - I used 1/2 mug of each, I used hand chopped tomatoes - all worked well - we happily ate it 2 days running !

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  • 2008-04-17 11:07:32.00014

    ljwarrington rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    simply FANTASTIC!! made it with a curry for around 8 guests - everyone loved it. used dried crushed chilli flakes - but was wonderful!

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  • 2008-04-24 18:23:23.859468

    sally rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Good but have tried tastier versions of this.

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  • 2008-05-09 18:28:12.605229

    groovyglass commented on this recipe

    just made this recipe, didn't use oil,i 'fried' the onions a spray oil, lovely and tasty and have made enough to freeze and have later!!!!

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  • 2008-08-31 12:21:34.658129

    Natalie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Totally yummy! Mine turned out the colour of pond-water, instead of the beautiful orange shade in the picture, but that didn't spoil the taste at all.

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  • 2008-10-27 20:59:02.125037

    HughesnHutch rated this recipe

    3 stars

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  • 2009-01-07 19:41:37.726722

    vicki rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Mine may have gone wrong as it tasted Yuk. Maybe too much water and too little flavour

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  • 2009-01-13 19:13:53.490523

    Kate123 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    As with many spiced dishes, I found that this was actually better the following day. Easy to make and a pretty little side dish, my husband and I thought this was great and so much better for us than what you get from the takeaway!

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  • 2009-04-15 21:44:06.63811

    Mick rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • 2009-04-15 21:49:24.905448

    Mick commented on this recipe

    Enjoyed this dish. Easy to make and tastes good. Will finish it off tomorrow when I reckon it will taste even better.

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  • 2009-09-01 20:49:47.40632

    Jodie & Marks lovely nosh rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    I was looking forward to this but it was disappointingly average. A bit bland and not something I would make again.

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  • 2010-04-06 17:40:46.761229

    LindaMo commented on this recipe

    I think this is delish - I add chicken to it sometimes, or prawns! Even my health-food-averse boyfriend loves it!

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  • 2011-03-19 19:29:45.513609

    Susie rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I really enjoyed this, I ate it from a bowl with a naan bread as a bit of a treat and it was very flavoursome :)

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  • 2011-10-23 16:03:59.047582

    kezlehan rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fab, although mine too was the colour of pond water. Can anyone advise how to get the red colour like in the picture?

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  • 2012-01-20 18:10:40.76809

    cupofteafather commented on this recipe

    Terrible. It wasn't the colour in the picture and putting the garam masala in last ruins it. The spices need frying off with the onions. Very bland flavour. Back to the drawing board with this recipe :(

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  • 2012-02-04 18:07:58.325259

    AdamB commented on this recipe

    Oops...didn't soak the mung beans. Does that mean they will be too hard? Ingredients above should say washed and soaked.

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  • 2012-02-05 12:13:43.833428

    AdamB commented on this recipe

    Update from my last msg above - you can quick soak the mung beans by bringing to the boil, then leaving for 1 hour before following the method as it's listed above. Mine tasted pretty good, and was a nice orangy yellow brown colour. To those who are saying it's taste is bland - you could up the quantities of the stuff that goes in the frying pan, but remember it is dhal. I'm no expert but dhal's flavours are meant to be subtle...like grey pea soup. It is usually a side dish, I think. On it's own - Make it extra hot (2 green chillies) and add a spoon of yoghurt and some caramalised onions with naan and you have a great meal.

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  • 2012-10-24 18:22:51.722283

    Sparx rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this for my dinner this evening and it was delicious. After reading through the comments and because I like spicy flavoursome dishes, I cooked the lentils with some creamed coconut, and doubled most of the spice measurements. I also added cumin seeds to the paste and added the garam masala at this stage to ensure the taste wasn't too sharp. For those whose dhal turned out brown, all I can think is that you forgot to add the tumeric with the lentils at the start. Mine was a wonderful yellow-orange colour.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in 1 hour

Vegetarian

Vegetarian, Low-fat, Super healthy, Dairy-free

Ingredients

  • 125g moong dhal (whole mung beans), washed
  • 125g masoor dhal (red split lentils), washed
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • oil for frying
  • ½ onion , chopped very finely
  • 1 garlic clove , chopped very finely
  • 1 whole plum tomato from a tin, plus 1 tbsp of juice, whizzed in a blender
  • 1 tsp grated root ginger
  • 1 green chilli , finely chopped
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • a handful of coriander , chopped very finely
  • 2 red chillies
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Per serving

219 kcalories, protein 15.8g, carbohydrate 35g, fat 2.7 g, saturated fat 0.2g, fibre 3.1g, salt 0.6 g

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