Recipe

Black Lentil Dal

Servings:
6
Total Time:
0
hr
58
min
Jump to RecipeBowl of lentil dal next to cilantro
Healthy Highlights
Meal Type
Main Dishes
Dietary
Gluten Free
Vegetarian
Gut Healthy
Follow Along

This black lentil dal, also know as dal makhani, is one of my favorite Indian dishes to make. It have so much depth of flavor with all the spices added in. This dal just gets better with time. Let the flavors meld together to make a rich and creamy dish.

What type of lentils to use

You can use any type of black lentils you want here. I really like beluga black lentils but I have also use sprouted black lentils in the recipe and that works good as well.

I would stick to black lentils vs red, green, or brown. Those lentils cook faster and tend to get slightly mushy when cooked for this long.

What to serve with black lentil dal

Serve this dal along side white or brown rice. It is also great with a side of garlic naan.

Can this be vegan?

This recipe does have butter and cream in it. If you want to make it vegan I would skip the butter and cream and use 1/2 cup of full fat coconut milk instead.

Dal topped with cilantro.

Black Lentil Dal

5 stars4 stars
(
1
)
Servings:
6
Prep Time:
10
min
Cook Time:
0
hr
48
min
Total Time:
0
hr
58
min
Bowl of lentil dal next to cilantro
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 inch ginger, minced (about 1 tbsp)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 5.5 oz tomato paste
  • 1 cup black lentils
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 tsp kosher salt, more to taste
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp heavy cream

Directions

  1. Toast the cloves, star anise, coriander, cumin, cayenne, fennel, garam masala, and cardamom in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant. About 1 minute. Remove spices and add to a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder to crush until fine.
  2. Add olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Add in onion and cook until onion start to brown slightly, about 6-8 minutes.
  3. Turn down the heat to medium-low. Add in garlic and ginger, cook 2 minutes.
  4. Mix in the spices, and tomato paste. Then add in water, lentils, and salt. Bring to boil and then turn down to simmer.
  5. Cook, covered, for 40 minutes. Taste lentils to see if they are done.
  6. When done, add in butter and cream.
  7. Serve over rice or with naan.

Notes

Products Used

White dutch oven.
Kitchen

Dutch Oven

Box of 4 spice jars.
Food

Spice House

grey mortar and pestle
Kitchen

Mortar and Pestle

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