Easy, gluten-free dal recipe

This easy to cook recipe for Indian lentil soup, or dal is naturally gluten-free. A staple in Indian families, dal is my all-time favorite comfort food. It’s thick, creamy texture is perfect to warm you up on a cold, rainy day.

I usually use red lentils that I easily find in German supermarkets. If I’m shopping at an Indian store, I also like to buy red split lentils (arhar dal) or mung lentils. Dal is really versatile (here’s a great article about dal) and because we are a very diverse family, we often have it as a standalone soup or with rice, or with gluten-free roti.

Here’s the recipe.

Easy, gluten-free dal recipe

Author: Manasi Courses:Recipes

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 10 minutesCook time: 20 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time: 30 minutesServings:4 servingsCalories: kcal Best Season:Available

Description

Dal is made of lentils and by its very nature, gluten-free. It can be eaten as a stand-alone soup (although that’s not very common in India) or as an accompaniment with rice or rotis.

Ingredients

• 100g red or yellow lentils (I use masoor, mung or arhar dal)
• Turmeric powder (1 teaspoon)
• Coriander powder (1 teaspoon)
• Chilli powder (as per taste or 1 teaspoon)
• Salt (according to taste)

For the tempering (“tadka” in Hindi)

• 1 tbsp. Olive or rapeseed oil (for vegan version) or ghee
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 dried red chilli
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1 tomato, finely diced
• Some lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. coriander leaves

Instructions

1. Boil the lentils with double the amount of water, salt and turmeric in a pot for about 30 minutes or until they are cooked and mushy. Keep the pot with the lentils aside.
2. Heat the oil, butter or ghee in a pan and throw in the cumin seeds.
   Let them sputter and then add the slices of onion. Fry until transparent.
3. Add the tomato cubes, fry for a bit until the skin gets soft.
4. Pour the mixture into the pot with the cooked lentils, then set the pot back on the hob. Warm up the mixture, adding a little water if the lentils are too thick.
5. Serve with gluten-free rotis or rice.
6. Add a dash of lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves.

Notes

• Use olive or rapeseed oil instead of ghee for a vegan version. If you want a richer version of the dish, use a tablespoon of butter instead of ghee. You could also garnish with mint leaves instead of coriander, if you want a different flavor to your dal.

Keywords:Gluten-free, Indian food, lactose free, Vegetarian