Yesterday the weather took a little turn towards autumn. Figures, since I’m just about over my cold. At least the foggy mornings and cooler temperatures make it so much easier to think about stews and soups and warm bowls of curry. Looking through my cupboard the other day, I had a mason jar filled with red lentils. Their colour is so warm and inviting and it seemed like the perfect thing to make for a quick dinner. I also had that bag of organic MacIntosh apples, so I decided to use a couple of those as well. Curry was on my mind and it’s nice to have a bit of sweet along with the heat.
I made a dal, which in India refers to any lentil or legume, but it can also mean any soup or stew using a legume. Since red lentils are really quick to prepare, I knew that this dinner would be ready in under 30 minutes. I like my curry spicy, so I used a spicy garam masala paste (my favorite is made by Patak
curried apple & lentil dal
2 T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1 green pepper, diced
2 small MacIntosh apples, diced
2 T garam masala curry paste
1 1/2 c red lentils
2 c vegetable brothHeat oil on medium-high heat in a large pot and saute garlic, onion and ginger until fragrant. Toss in green pepper and apples and the curry paste, and stir everything until well combined. Add in lentils and broth, cover, and turn down heat to a simmer and cook until the lentils and vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Add a little water, if necessary, to prevent the dal from becoming to dry. Serve on top of brown rice and top with some plain yogurt or mango chutney.
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So what is french ginger?
barista, that would be fresh ginger. oops!
I have a bag of inviting red lentils in my cupboard too! They’ve been there since last winter 🙂 It’s still kind of warm here so I have yet to start thinking about Fall dishes but I’m always in the mood for a spicy Indian dal with mango chutney…mmmm!!
This sounds delightful.
I’m just starting my forray into indian cuisine and this just looks delish!
Delicious dal!!!
It’s never too early for curry, Bijoux!
It was pretty tasty, Ella. Thanks!
ttrn300, this is an easy dish to make. Good luck!
Thanks, veggiegirl!
Made it! made it!
Even before I saw your response, I had the lentils cooking away. I also added some diced aubergine and a yellow zucchini just because they were in my fridge since last week and had to be used. And, I used 3 TBS of Patak’s Garam Masala curry paste…ohhh boy…sssssinge 😀
That looks about perfect for dinner tonight, thanks!
You are just oozing with creativity! I’ve really enjoyed your posts and decided to pass on an excellence award to you for your blog! You can see it on my blog. Enjoy!
bijoux, glad you made it and enjoyed it 🙂
wendy, i think it’s perfect for dinner anytime!
mandy, thanks so much for the award and nice words 🙂
This sounds perfect for these first days of fall! We’re not really experiencing too much of a weather change yet down here in southern California, but I’m already craving soups and stews and all kinds of warm and spicy things! I have everything on hand to throw this together soon! Thanks for such a simple yet creative dish!
Sounds delicious! Can green lentils be substituted for red as long as I adjust the cooking time? Or will it taste significantly different?
Mmm. This type of dish is right up my food eating alley. I eat a lot of curry: in rice, soups, hummus (try putting it in hummus, wonderful!, pasta’s, etc..)
Yes, mango would be wonderful with this as well.
rathe mango chutney, ha!
nicole, it’s a great recipe to try and it certainly does help make the transition into fall a little better….even if it’s still summer where you are 🙂
anon, i’ve made dal before with green lentils before so i say go ahead and tell me how it went!
thanks dawn, curries are great!
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I like adding apple to lentil dishes, it always gives a nice sweetness
I was excited to read your blog especially the part about the weather changing.
I am from Vancouver, living in Florida and I miss the Autumn.
Even your write up about curry makes me homesick for Vancouver.
Great blog.
made it last night, and it was deeeeeeeeeeeelish!!! thanks for your super-simple, economical and yummy recipes.
If you liek red lentils you might like to try this recipie for Hyderabadi Khatti (sour) dal.
Just soak around half a cup of red lentils for around 10 minutes. Peel and dice 3 meduim tomatoes, put the tomatoes, the lentinls, a couple of halfed green chillies, salt, half a teaspoon of red chillies with enough water to cover everything. Simmer till the lentils are quite soft and then blend to a paste.
Soak a tablespoon of tamarind in half a cup of water. Add the tamarind paste to the lentils and cook for another twenty minutes or so.
Heat a bit of oil in another pan add zeera, a bayleaf, dry chilli and a teaspoon of chopped garlic to it.
Pour over the lentils & cover immedeatly.
Serve with boiled white rice.
katie, i can see why! it’s delish 🙂
celeste, thanks for writing! pop by anytime!
hooray! glad you enjoyed it, margrocks!
thanks ibteda!
This recipe looks SO GOOD! I can’t find garam masala curry paste anywhere in Ottawa tho 🙁 Any hints for a different approach?
Hayley, you can use garam masala powder instead – check the spice aisles of your local grocery store. Or find an Indian market!
I cooked this delicious dal for dinner tonight, it was wonderful. Thanks for sharing such tasty and easy recipes kickpleat 🙂