Red Lentil Curry
By Swasthi on February 22, 2024, Comments, Jump to Recipe
Make this flavor-packed, creamy and delicious Red Lentil Curry under 40 mins. Red lentils are simmered in a super fragrant & spicy onion tomato curry-base. It is gluten-free and vegan if you make it with oil. All you need is a bowl of hot rice, millets, quinoa or flatbreads to enjoy this. I include instructions to make this Red Lentil Curry in a pot on the stovetop or in the pressure cooker (instant pot & stovetop cooker).
About Red Lentil Curry
Red Lentil are widely used across the globe as they are high in protein compared to a lot of other lentils. They also cook faster than their counterparts and are sweeter in flavor, this makes them more suitable for many different kinds of dishes like soups, curries and stew.
Also known as Masoor Dal, red lentils are a staple in the Indian sub-continent. They come from the whole Brown Lentils (sabut masur). The whole lentils are skinned & sometimes split. So you find them split or whole in the market.
This Red Lentil Curry is a fusion of South & North Indian styles. So you will find ingredients & cooking methods adapted from both these cuisines. But they are very basic.
If you ever heard people saying “I can make a lentil dish that smells like a meat curry”, it is this Red Lentil Curry! You only need pantry staples like onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chili, garam masala, some whole spices, South Indian curry powder & cream/ yogurt. Below I also share a substitute for the curry powder.
It is essential to use good spice blends as they can make or break your dish. I use this homemade Curry powder and Garam masala. The curry is finished off with a moderate amount of cashew cream or heavy cream or yogurt, which not only makes the dish creamy but also adds a unique flavor. To make it low-calorie, simply omit the cream/yogurt and it still tastes delicious but less creamy.
To transform this to a vegan/vegetarian meat mock meat curry, simply add some soya nuggets or soya granules also known as textured vegetable protein (TVP). Please use only organic TVP if you try. Whether you are trying to stop eating meat or want to cut down the consumption, make this with red lentils & TVP. I am sure you will love it.
I have a separate pro-tips section below, please read that before you try out.
More similar recipes you may like,
Dal Makhani
Chickpea Curry
Tofu Curry
Aloo Chana
Butternut Squash Curry
Tofu Tikka Masala
How to Make Red Lentil Curry (Stepwise Photos)
To make in pressure cooker – stovetop or instant pot, rinse your dal and start from step 4 below. Pressure cook for 7 minutes in instant pot or for 3 whistles in Indian cooker. Wait for the pressure to drop naturally. Add kasuri methi and cream.
Cook Lentils & prepare
1. Add 1 cup red lentils to a pot and rinse them thrice. Drain and pour 2½ cups water. Bring to a rolling boil on a high heat and reduce to medium.
2. If you want you may skim the froth.
3. Let cook until tender (al dente), for 10 mins. Older lentils take longer to cook.
4. While the lentils cook, chop and prepare the other ingredients as below.
- Fine chop 1 medium onion to make ¾ to 1 cup
- Grate or press 3 medium garlic cloves to make ¾ tablespoon
- Grate or crush ½ inch slice ginger to make ¾ tablespoon
- Optional – slit or chop 1 green chili /serrano peppers/ Thai/ Indian green chilies
- Puree or chop (peel if needed) 3 medium tomatoes to make 1¾ cups
5. You need the following spices & other ingredients:
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder / paprika (more if you want, adjust to taste)
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
- 1 tablespoon mild curry powder (or 2 tsp coriander powder, ¾ tsp cumin pow, ¼ tsp each turmeric, chili pow, cardamom, fennel, black pepper )
- 2 teaspoons kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves, crushed)
- 3 inch cinnamon piece + ½ tsp cumin seeds (omit if you don’t have)
- optional – â…“ cup heavy cream / yogurt/ cashew cream (I use 20 cashews, blend with â…“ cup water to a smooth puree)
Make Red Lentil Curry
6. Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons oil/ghee in a pan. Add the whole spices, onions, green chilies and curry leaves. Saute until golden, for about 8 mins.
7. Stir in ginger garlic and saute for a minute, until aromatic.
8. Stir in the salt, curry powder, garam masala and Kashmiri chili powder.
9. Add the tomatoes & a splash of water (if using fresh chopped tomatoes).
10. Cover and cook until the tomatoes break down. Sauté for 1 to 2 mins until the mixture turns aromatic.
11. Add the cooked red lentils along with the leftover stock/ water. Mix well and add more water as needed. I need about ½ cup here. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
12. If you want mash some of the lentils with the back of the spoon. This adds more creamy texture to your curry.
13. Stir in kasuri methi and cream (if using). Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. To use yogurt whisk it well in a small bowl and stir in 2 to 3 tbsps of the red lentil curry. Mix well and add it back to the pan.
14. Taste test. If you want, add more salt, garam masala or black pepper for heat. I didn’t have to add anything except salt.
Garnish red lentil curry with coriander leaves and squeeze some lemon juice. Serve it over Basmati rice or with Naan, Chapati, Roti or any other flatbreads with cucumber salad. If you want you may make a fresh tadka/tempering & pour it over the curry.
Pro Tips
- We pre-cook lentils separately for cleaner and better flavors. Cook the lentils first to bring out their natural sweeter flavor, then simmer briefly with the onion tomato base. This makes a full-flavored curry.
- This method also cuts down your cook-time. Cooking lentils with an acidic ingredient like tomatoes (especially canned tomatoes) is only going to increase the cook-time. So it is ideal to cook them first and then add to the curry.
- Both the above points don’t apply when you pressure cook.
- To save time, first begin to cook the lentils while you prepare the ingredients like onions, tomatoes etc.
- Use fresh stock of lentils as older lentils (sitting in the shelf) take longer to cook. However if you have nothing other than the old lentils, soak them in boiling hot water for 20 mins and then cook.
- I have made this recipe with only homemade spice blends that are fresh. Please use good quality spices. If you use old spice blends, you may need to increase the quantities.
- The amount of water depends on the age of your lentils. Old lentils take more water.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Red Lentil Curry Recipe
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 1 cup (200 grams) red lentils (split or whole)
- 2½ cups water (more if needed, same for IP)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons oil / ghee or butter
- 1 sprig curry leaves or bay leaf
- 3 inch cinnamon piece + ½ tsp cumin seeds (omit if you don't have)
- ¾ to 1 cup (1 medium) onions fine chopped
- ¾ tablespoon (3 medium) garlic cloves grated/pressed
- ¾ tablespoon (½ inch slice) ginger grated/crushed
- 1 green chili (optional, chopped or slit, serrano peppers/ Thai/ Indian green chilies)
- 1¾ cups (3 medium) Tomatoes (peeled & chopped/pureed or 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes)
- 1 teaspoon salt (more to adjust, cut down if your curry powder has salt)
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder / paprika (adjust to taste)
- 1 tablespoon curry powder (mild – or 2 tsp coriander powder, ¾ tsp cumin pow, ¼ tsp each turmeric, chili pow, cardamom, fennel, black pepper )
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
- 2 teaspoons kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- â…“ cup heavy cream / yogurt/ cashew cream (20 cashews blend with â…“ cup water)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves to garnish
Instructions
How to make Red Lentil Curry
- Add red lentils to a pot and rinse them thrice. Drain and pour water. Bring to a rolling boil on a high heat and reduce to medium.
- Let cook until tender (al dente), for 10 mins. If you want you may skim the froth. Older lentils take longer to cook. While the lentils cook, chop and prepare the other ingredients.
- Heat oil/ghee in a medium pan. Add the whole spices, onions, green chilies and curry leaves. Saute until golden, for about 8 mins.
- Stir in ginger garlic and saute for a minute, until aromatic.
- Stir in the curry powder, garam masala and Kashmiri chili powder, followed by tomatoes & (a splash of water if using fresh tomatoes). Cover and cook until the tomatoes break down.
- Saute for 1 to 2 mins until the mixture turns aromatic.
- Add the red lentils along with the leftover stock/ water. Mix well and more water as needed. You will need about ½ cup. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
- If you want mash some of the lentils with the back of the spoon. Stir in kasuri methi and cream. Simmer for 2 minutes.
- Taste test. If you want, add more salt, garam masala or black pepper for heat.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and squeeze some lemon juice.
- Serve red lentil curry over rice or with Naan, Chapati, Roti or any other flatbreads.
Instant Pot Red Lentil Curry
- You don't need to cook the lentils separately. Make the masala first, add the lentils and pressure cook for 7 minutes. Wait for natural pressure release and add kasuri methi and cream.
Stovetop Indian Pressure Cooker
- You don't need to cook the lentils separately. Make the masala first, add the lentils to the cooker. Pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles on a medium heat. Wait for the pressure to drop and add kasuri methi and cream. If you want make a extra tadka.
Notes
- The cook times will change if the lentils are old.
- Use good quality and fresh garam masala and curry powder. I use my homemade curry powder & garam masala for best results.
- I use whole skinned red lentils and they take only 10 mins to cook but split lentils cook even faster. If you are using old lentils, you may soak them in boiling water for 20 minutes. Use the same water to cook.
- This is a low heat curry, if you want it hot, use hot curry powder and use more chili powder.
- To use yogurt whisk it well in a small bowl and stir in 2 to 3 tbsps of the red lentil curry. Mix well and add it back to the pan.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
Watch Red Lentil Curry Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Love it! Made it without cream. Makes a great meal that will be easy to tweak if I want. Will make again and again. Thank you!
This is hands down my favorite red lentil curry! I appreciate your thought of cooking lentils before adding to the curry and this tip is a game changer. I could cook this under 35 mins. I love anything creamy, so I used canned coconut milk for heavy cream. Thank you for posting. I will be making this again and again.
You are welcome Elena. Thank you so much for sharing back. I am so glad you like this.
Hi Swasthi- I just have black lentils on hand- could I substitute those for the red lentils in this recipe? Love your stuff
Hi David,
There are different kind of black lentils. If you are using Indian black lentils (urad dal), I have a recipe here – dal makhani. But if you have black beluga, you can use them here. They take longer to cook about 25 to 30 mins, so you will need more water. Hope this helps.
I was looking for a red lentil recipe without coconut and found yours. This is excellent and so simple! I follow a vegan diet & can’t eat cream or butter. So I used oil and 2 tbsps peanut butter before finishing. I followed the recipe closely and kept everything else the same. It tastes so good like real Indian food. Thank you and I am very excited to try out more vegetarian and vegan recipes from here.
So nice to read this Maddy. Thank you for sharing back
Delicious red lentils! Turned out really well! I think I need to learn making smooth cashew cream. Mine was a bit gritty but still the curry tasted great. Wish you could include how to make cashew cream. All the recipes I checked required too many cashews. I am afraid I won’t be able to use up that much.
Thanks Angela. To make a small batch of cashew cream, you need a smaller grinder jar. There are 2 ways you can make it smooth. First method is to make a powder first, add the same amount of water as the cashews (like ¼ or ⅓ cup) and grind to a smooth puree. The other way is to soak them in hot water for 30 minutes and blend to a smooth puree with water. Hope this helps.
If using whole lentils, would you soak overnight? Any advice? I look forward to making this with brown lentils.
Hi Lara,
I don’t soak brown lentils. They cook faster in about 20 to 25 mins. But if the lentils are too old and have been sitting in the shelf, soak them for 2 to 3 hours. I have a brown lentil recipe coming up soon.
Super recipe Swasthi! I made this and my husband loves it.
Thanks for trying Aparna
I am shocked by how easy this red lentil curry is and yet so delicious. Definitely the best lentil curry I’ve ever had, without using a long list of ingredients. I had to omit the creamy ingredient to go low-fat, yet it was so good. Looking forward to make your tofu curry. Thanks and keep up the great work!
So happy to read this Matthew. Thank you for sharing back. Hope you like the tofu curry too.
Can I get good results with green lentils instead of red? I have them in my pantry. Thank you.
Hi Deem,
Yes they work well in this recipe. Green lentils take longer, about 25 mins to cook.
My husband discovered your website last month while looking for a chana masala recipe. We loved it and have been trying out many dishes from here. I made this red lentil curry and it is amazing! And we found it to be great as a base to make variations with potatoes, broccoli or halloumi. Appreciate your work and keep the recipes coming!
That’s nice to know Tamara. I agree you can use this as a base. Thank you so much for sharing back.
Turned out fabulous! Made this recipe as written with only the addition of some dehydrated mushrooms. I used split red lentils and the dish whipped up faster than expected. Next time I am going to up the cashews because we loved it.
That’s lovely Tiff. Love the idea of using dehydrated mushrooms. Thank you for sharing back
Hi Swasthi,
I made this last night, working with what I had. Not enough Masoor Dal so had to use predominantly washed Moong Dal. Your Garam Masala is to die for and made such a difference to the shop bought stuff. I didn’t add cream but made a Ghee based tempering of Shallots, Garlic, Green Cardomom seeds, Black Mustard seeds, Black Cumin seeds Kalonji and Hing.
Really enjoyed it…and there’s some for tomorrow!
Hi Paul,
So glad to read this. Yes I agree about the garam masala. Thank you for trying and sharing back. That’s a nice tadka!
This recipe turned out amazing , more delicious than what I expected. I see you don’t use hing in many of your dishes. Is there a reason?
Glad you like it Nandini. Yes I use but rarely because I believe it is a stimulant. You can use it in this recipe too.
Amazing! I have made red lentil curry many times but this was awesome. Goes to my favorites!
Thanks Jenny. Nice to know.
I once ate a lentil curry in my Indian friend’s home. It tasted delicious and right now I am craving for it. It had jackfruit meat and smelled like a meat curry but didn’t have the same texture like meat. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe, going to try it
Hi Candice,
Yes in South India jackfruit is cooked with lentils and legumes. Hope you like this curry
This looks so hearty and warming! I am making it this weekend. Love your tips section, so detailed and helpful
Thanks Jasmine. Hope you enjoy the dish
Great recipe. As usual.
Thanks Robin
Excellent recipe. As usual.