I know, I know, just what you’re craving in the middle of summer…a dish that brings the heat! Did I nail it on the head or what? Well, maybe you can entertain this as an idea for a rainy, cool-ish summer evening. We enjoyed it on a night like that just recently! We’ve had a lot of rain and clouds around these parts.
I’ve been trying to come up with the fastest of fast dinner recipes, since cooking with two kids underfoot is getting more and more challenging. If it takes me more than 10 minutes of prep during the witching hour, it’s usually not happening. (I don’t know, maybe I should try batch cooking and freezing meals on the weekends, but I haven’t yet come up with a plan for that.) Admittedly, I’ve also been feeling a bit defeated in the cooking department because Adriana is going through an “I’m not hungry” phase (after going through a really good eating phase in the spring that, in retrospect, could’ve been a growth spurt!). Most of the things we offer her get a few nibbles taken out of them. Or she just exclaims, “POPSICLE, PLEASE!” *facepalm* So, my mood lately has been basically PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME COOK ANOTHER REJECTED MEAL. The silver lining is that Arlo will eat anything that isn’t nailed down (for now!), as will Eric (lol), so my cooking confidence isn’t totally shattered. I’m like, “SEE, NORMAL PEOPLE LOVE MY FOOD!” (I may be losing it.)
One day I just started throwing things into a pot and didn’t actually expect this recipe to be a winner, but it turned out to be really tasty, especially after a couple more trials. I love that it’s extremely fast to prep. My goal was 10 minutes prep, and I usually clock in at around 7 or 8 minutes (when I have my cooking game face on!). I also wanted the dish to rely on pantry ingredients, such as dried spices rather than fresh aromatics. Don’t get me wrong, fresh garlic, onion, ginger, chillis, etc. are typically my first choice, but they aren’t always practical for those rushed nights. Another benefit of this recipe is that you can use whatever veggies you have on hand, so it can work for all the seasons. I, Eric, and Arlo are really enjoying it…and I’ve even convinced Adriana to eat a bit (it was a sweet potato version, and I ended up mashing her sweet potatoes into the dal and stirring in the rice).
8-Minute Pantry Dal
Yield
4 (with accompaniments)
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This satisfying pantry dal is lightning fast and will only set you back around 8 minutes of prep time. While not an authentic dal, I created this version out of a desperate need to come up with more speedy pantry dinner options. You can change it up so many ways by simply varying the veggies you use, and in my tips I've provided an alternative spice option, too—I still can't decide which one I like better! Before you begin, I recommend setting out all the spices on the counter so they’re ready to go when you’re cooking. Also, if you have some on hand, this dish is great with baby spinach stirred in during the last couple minutes of cooking. In the photographed dish, I used 2 cups each of chopped zucchini and broccoli florets, but of course, feel free to use any veggies you prefer.
Ingredients
For the dal:
- 1 heaping tablespoon (20 mL) virgin coconut oil or olive oil
- 4 cups peeled (if necessary) and diced veggies*
- 1/2 cup (100 g) uncooked red lentils
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) water, plus more if needed
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14-ounce/398 mL) can light coconut milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) minced onion**
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) good curry powder, or to taste***
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Serving suggestions:
- Cooked basmati rice or grain of choice
- Fresh chopped cilantro leaves
- Fresh lime juice
Directions
- In a large pot, melt the coconut oil over low-medium heat.
- Peel (if necessary) and dice the veggies into 1/2-inch pieces. Add them into the pot and stir until combined. Increase heat to medium.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients (lentils, water, diced tomatoes [with juices], coconut milk, all the spices, salt, and pepper). Stir until combined.
- Increase heat to high and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 18 to 30 minutes, until the veggies and lentils are tender; the cook time will depend on the types of veggies you use, and their size. Stir the dal frequently while cooking, and reduce the heat if necessary to prevent it from sticking to the pot. (If you’re using potatoes, I suggest covering the pot while cooking since they don’t contain as much water to “cook off”. You may need to add more water to thin the mixture.)
- If desired, serve over rice, and garnish with cilantro and lime (it’s still great without these additions, though!).
Tip:
* You can use any veggies you like here! Whatever is lurking in your kitchen, feel free to try it out. A few ideas for combos include the following: carrot and zucchini, potato and peas, sweet potato and red pepper, broccoli and zucchini, cauliflower and/or broccoli.
** Minced (or flaked) onion is less concentrated than onion powder. Onion powder will work as a substitute if that's what you have on hand, but I would suggest starting with a small amount and adding it to taste in ¼-teaspoon increments to avoid it overpowering the dish.
*** I use Simply Organic brand of curry powder. If you don’t have a favourite curry powder blend on hand, you can substitute the following: 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or more to taste), and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional). Don’t forget to use the 1 1/2 teaspoons of both garlic powder and minced onion, as well.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
I was so excited to see this recipe. It turned out well but just a bit too runny, I would cut back on the coconut milk next time and didn’t use any water. I would add more red lentils too and wait to put the broccolli later as it came out a bit too soft compared to the cauliflower and courgettes I used.
This was sooooo delicious! Even my picky kids loved it! Yay! A healthy meal we will all eat! Thank you. I’ve enjoyed every recipe of yours that I’ve tried so far. :)
Thanks for trying my recipes, Shannon! I’m so glad this one was a hit with the entire family. It can be so hard to find a dish everyone likes sometimes, but it’s always great when you find a winner :)
I just made this last night and it was delicious! I love all the spices and the squeeze of lime at the end brightened up the flavors. Will make this again for sure! Might try adding chickpeas to the veggies, too!
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Emily! Please let me know how you like it with chickpeas–that sounds like a great addition.
I became an absolute fan of Indian cuisine after my recent trip to India! It is so delicious and comforting and full of flavor. Re-invented a few dishes in their healthiest options on my website too :) Goin to try this one ASAP! Thank you for the recipe xxx
Love, Julie xxx www.juliejuliet.com
Looks delicious – dal has always been a staple of mine! And the best part is the ‘pantry’ part as you can put different ingredients in depending on what you have on stock!
Oh my goodness this was so delicious that I had to come out to leave a review. I have been searching for the perfect curry recipe and have made quite a few. This is by far the best and easiest. I used cauliflower, broccoli, and potatoes. I also used full fat coconut milk, since that was all I had on hand. I served it over basmati rice and there were no leftovers. I will be making this quite often. Thank you for your delicious recipes!
Oh, I’m so happy you found this recipe, Kim! Thanks for the glowing review. It’s great to hear you enjoyed it! :)
More recipes like this please!
Thanks for this quick and easy recipe. I’ve shared the link with my FB group “Super Quick Plant Based Recipes” https://www.facebook.com/SuperQuickPBRecipes/ I think they will love it AND your site!
This is now our weekday lunch meal. I like to make a big batch of something on the weekend and a double recipe of this is absolutely perfect.
Thank you so much for all your posts. About a year ago I decided to end an over decade long battle with hormone related issues that left me sick so often it was unbelievable. I’d lost part of my reporductive organs to a cyst, had persistent PCOS on my remaining ovary, had multiple fibroids and even when I tried to “eat healthy” and exercise, couldn’t lose a pound to save my life. I was in and out of the doctors office every other week doing tests, undergoing procedures, my PMS left me nearly bedridden at least a week to 9 days of the month…it really was just not a great quality of life…so after ANOTHER biopsy that turned into an infection that they couldn’t get a handle on, while I laid on my couch an emotional MESS I watched EVERY food documentary on Netflix and realized I need to try something else. So I took a few weeks to do a lot of research and really prepare myself and then started a hypoallergenic diet trial – completely clean for 4 weeks and then reintoduce foods a bit at a time and what became apparent was that “food” that has hormones or chemicals or is processed beyond recognition causes my hormones to go crazy!
At first I just made vegetable soups and rice and lentils and ate a lot of fruit because to be honest, I’ve never been a huge vegetable fan so I had NO IDEA how to cook with them beyond the basics, so it was going to be hard to maintain…but I couldn’t argue with the results; after a week I felt great, I started exercising all the time without having to force myself, I lost nearly 20 lbs in 12 weeks, while eating all the time and never feeling hungry…I knew I couldn’t maintain it on bland, no idea what I’m doing food though. (I am a cheese and white bread and meat lover by nature!) Without your blog, and then your second cookbook, and your shoutouts to other blogs I would never have been able to maintain any of this.
I am far from perfect but day to day, I eat better and feel better than I ever have in my life and recipes like this one, that make it so much less overwhelming and seem so much more simple are a huge part of why I have been able to do that. So grateful for all the trial and error you’ve probably had to do to be able to help other people, who couldn’t do that themselves. Keep it up, it’s so life changing!
Hey Trisha, Wow, thank you SO much for sharing your story! I am truly humbled by your kind words, and just thrilled to hear that you’re doing so much better now. Thank you for all your support, and I wish you all the health and happiness in the world. Side note: I’m so happy you love making a double batch of the dal each week…we’ve been doing that too, and I just LOVE the leftovers for lunch/dinner. :)
You are making me hungry! Great idea for those get it on the table so your kid can go to bed nights!
I found this at just the right moment! I was looking for inspiration for tonight’s dinner and here it is. Can’t wait to try this!
Hope it hits the spot, Amy!
I didn’t read all 150 comments so I’m sorry if this has already been addressed, but I’m not really a fan of yellow curry. Would using a green curry paste work? It looks awesome.
Made this tonight and it was so delicious! Thanks a lot Angela for being the pioneer of healthy and quick recipes for all the moms out there ;-) I have two little ones – they both ate some!
Thanks so much for the warm words, Debbie. I’m so happy to hear this was a hit with your little ones!
Delicious dish! The leftovers were even better! Heaven in a bowl! Thank you!!
Have you tried cooking with the kids instead of leaving them under foot? My almost one year old is already obsessed with trying to help in the kitchen. He mostly just moves chopped veggies from one place to another (and samples them along the way). We are ikea hacking him a learning tower so he can be at the counter while I cook. There isn’t much information on what kinds of things he will be able to help with next, but I’m excited to figure it out!
Hey Jessica, haha so cute. Adriana also loves to help us cook! Smoothies, pancakes, meal prep…anything where she can stick things into a bag and pour it all over the place basically…lol. I take solace in the fact that one day she will be my personal chef? ;) I’ll have to look up this IKEA hack!
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe! I discovered it earlier this week on your app and I am making it for a second time tonight for dinner! It is so simple to make and the ingredients (as the name suggests) are things that I pretty much always have in the house!! I know this will be a recipe I go back to again and again!
I made this this weekend and everybody loved it!
I made this today bc I had leftover fresh veggies to use up – broccoli, cauliflower and red pepper. Even tho I had fresh I followed the recipe and used garlic powder and dried minced onions since it’s the first time I’ve made thisi. Now I’m just waiting for dinner time to dig in and can’t wait!! This is so tasty!! My hubby tasted and now he wants some too. Less for me, so sad. I’m new to vegan cooking and trying for health reasons. I’m pretty healthy but getting older and my cholesterol is creeping up. My husband is already taking a statin. So I’d really like to lower that LDL naturally. The trouble is finding decent recipes (I’ve tossed a few disgusting meals) so I’m very happy to find this site. I’m looking forward to checking out more of your recipes online and in your cookbook. Thank you Angela!
Hey Paula,
Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog + recipes! I’m so happy this recipe was a hit for you and your husband. We make it a few times a month…it’s just so easy! I like to make double batches because the leftovers only get better. Happy cooking!
Hi Angela – I have read your blog for a few years now and just recently downloaded your APP. I LOVE your recipes and just recently tried this one. It was really good! I used butternut squash and zucchini and I will definitely be making this recipe again! Thank you!
Hey Charlene,
Thanks for downloading the app! I hope you love it. And I’m so happy this recipe was a hit. We make it a few times a month! So easy and the leftovers get better the next day.
Delicious! I’m going to try a new recipe at least 4 days per week. Making your Vegan BB now. Kitchen smells pretty amazing!
Thanks Lisa! So happy you enjoyed it :)