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Sri Lankan Red Lentil Curry. Creamy Dal curry Spiced with fenugreek seeds, cinnamon & black peppercorns. Coconut milk adds cooling creaminess. Easy Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe. No garlic recipe. Jump to Recipe
Its getting cooler out here. I am loving warming soups and stews. Lentil soups/Dals are a staple in the house whether winter or summer. During summer, the lentil soups are made less spicy and served with kachumbar salad (chopped cucumber onion tomato cilantro tossed in salt, black pepper and lemon juice), raita (non dairy yogurt lightly spiced with cumin, salt, cayenne with onion, cucumber, tomato or shredded summer squash mixed in) and or other cooling sides. Cooler months call for warm spices, black pepper, quick cooking lentils.
This creamy spiced Dal curry is delicious and easy. It is spiced with whole cinnamon and fenugreek seeds. Fenugreek Seeds 
More lentil soups from the blog
- Dal Fry – Spiced Indian Lentil Soup Restaurant style Recipe
- Moroccan Lentil Soup
- Oil-free Spicy Garlic Dal
- Black eyed pea Lentil Soup
The current issue of Thrive Magazine showcases various vegan chefs including a 2 page spread on yours truly…Excerpt here!
Make this Sri lankan inspired Red Lentil Curry. Creamy, spicy, easy and so good! Inspired from some recipes from the web and Vegan Eats World
Sri Lankan Red Lentil Curry
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup red lentils, masoor dal - these are split lentils (red/pink)
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1/3 tsp black peppercorns
- 1/3 tsp cayenne or to taste , or 1-2 dried red chilies. California red for mild, cayenne or bird eye red chilies for hot
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 6 to 8 curry leaves, fresh or frozen or dried
- 1/2 small red onion, chopped
- 2 inch cinamon stick
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 cup or more coconut milk , or other non dairy milk
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- 1/2 to 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp shredded coconut
Instructions
- Wash and soak the red lentils.
- Grind the fenugreek, black pepper, cayenne/red chilies, turmeric into a powder and keep aside.
- In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds and let them start to pop. Add curry leaves carefully and mix in. Add the fenugreek seed powder, stir and cook for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Add onions, cinnamon stick and a pinch of salt. Mix to coat with spices. Cook for about 3 minutes.
- Drain and add the lentils to the saucepan. Add water, salt and coconut milk. Mix in. Partially cover and cook for 12 to 14 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes, lemon juice, taste and adjust salt and spice. Lower the heat to low. Cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes. Stir once in between.
- Garnish with shredded coconut and pepper flakes (optional). Serve as a soup with crackers or as dal with rice or flatbread.
Notes
Variations: Add more coconut milk instead of water for creamier soup.
Add in chopped veggies. Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker: Follow steps 1 to 4 (IP on saute, deglaze the onion with a tbsp of water or broth at step 4 if needed as the IP gets hot). Add the lentils, milk, water,salt, half of the tomato and lemon juice, mix. Close the lid, pressure cook for 3 mins. Then quick release after 5 mins. Fold in the rest of the tomato and lemon. Taste and adjust. Add some shredded coconut and serve. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How long do you soak the lentils for ?
for the 10 minutes it takes the next few steps. i will update the recipe.
Hi Richa,
Saw this post from Google+ page. Got curious about how a srilankan dal recipe would look like.
It is very similar to dish we in India Make.
Will try it some time. Thank you for sharing…
Regards
Vaishak S
yes indeed, lots of similarities between Indian and Sri lankan cuisines
I only eat foods with no added oils, so I would just leave the oil out and dry roast the spices. I’d add soy milk instead of the coconut milk and think this would still work for me. It looks amazing!
great.
This sounds really good, I gave all the ingredients so…. Vegetable pancakes in fridge already so dinner is done tonight!
Awesome!
I have about 3 version of red lentil soup that I make, but yours looks amazing! The spices are much different from the one’s I make. I’ll have to try it if I can find all the spices!
its mainly fenugreek seeds an whole cinnamon. fenugreek seeds are used in Indian and other asian and middle eastern cuisines, so definitely get some. They are easily available online or in Indian stores.
Are the curry leaves or is there an acceptable substitute?
There isnt really a good sub for curry leaves, You can use 1 bay leaf in the recipe. It will be different than this sri lankan flavor profile, but will taste great.
I’ve been looking for a vegan curry recipe! So yummy!
I don’t have fenugreek ~ any substitutes?
use garlic. Add chopped garlic with the onion or garlic powder later when the onions are cooked.
I have substitutes fennel seeds for fenugreek…..Google and you should find more substitutes
Yum! I love a good Dal. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks!
Yummm! Love all the spices and flavors in this recipe..can’t wait to try it out!
Great!