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Turmeric Spinach Golden Lentil Dal – Red Lentil Soup. Easy Lentil Soup with turmeric and greens. No garlic no onion No Chop Dhal. Golden Lentil Dal with Bengali Panch phoron spices. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe. Pin this Recipe.
This easy dal comes together in minutes. I use nigella and fenugreek seeds to add the onion-garlic flavor profile so this soup is great for anyone avoiding alliums. Add veggies and baby greens of choice and let it simmer. Serve as soup with crackers or papadums or over cooked basmati rice or other grains.
Temper the whole spices in oil. Once the spices start to pop or change color considerably, add turmeric and mix in. Add the lentils and water and cook until done to preference. Fold in spinach or greens of choice. Add veggies of choice and add in some fresh turmeric!
If you don’t have nigella and fenugreek seeds, add 1/4 cup onion and 3 cloves of garlic after step 2 , and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until translucent. The dal can also be made with just mustard seeds, cumin seeds and some garam masala.
More Easy Dals and Soups from the blog
- Turkish Lentil Soup
- Mushroom Chickpea Soup
- Curried butternut squash soup
- Mango Toor Dal
- Lentil Brown Rice Soup
Golden Red Lentil Dal (Turmeric Spinach Dal)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red lentils, washed and drained well
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/3 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/3 teaspoon nigella seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds, optional
- 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon or more ground turmeric
- 1/3 teaspoon or more cayenne
- 2/3 teaspoon salt or more
- 2 1/2 cups of water
- 1 cup chopped or baby spinach, or quick cooking baby greens
Instructions
- Wash the lentils and drain and keep aside.
- Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the whole spices in the order, Mix and let them start to pop.
- Add turmeric and cayenne and give it a quick mix. Add the washed and drained lentils, mix and roast for a minute. At this point, you can add in finely chopped veggies of choice.
- Add water and salt and mix in. Partially cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until lentils are cooked to preference.
- Fold in the spinach or baby greens. Taste and adjust salt and heat. Simmer for 2 minutes or so. You can also add in 1 chopped tomato at this point or some non-dairy yogurt to make your red lentil dal creamy. Serve as soup or over rice.
Notes
If you don't have nigella and fenugreek seeds, add 1/4 cup onion and 3 cloves of garlic after step 2 , and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until translucent. Nutritional information based on one serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi Richa!
For adding extra veg, how much would you add for the quantities (for 2 servings) in the recipe as written? And would it be an extra third-ish of the spices?
I don’t want to dilute out the flavours too much!
Also, do you normally prefer to add the tomato, or leave it without?
Thanks so much!
Oh and also – do you prefer it with or without the extra chopped veggies?
It’s great to use up extra veg so I usually add some.
Oh and do you prefer it with or without the extra chop veggies? Ta!
1-2 cups of veg and an extra third of each spice works well. I like to add tomato for an extra pop of flavor. Enjoy!
Hi there! If I don’t have fenugreek seeds, but have some Kasoori Methi, would that work okay? If yes, any info on amount / when to add would be most appreciated! Thank you!
Use double the amount in leaves
Thank you so much! 💐🌟😊
Just made this last night. Easy, quick and delicious. I added curry leaves because I had some. Thank you so much!
Awesome
I think I’m in love with you! This week I’ve tried 3 of your recipes and they have all been divine! (one is still chilling in the fridge, but it already tastes so good!). Honestly! This is amazing! Though I’m Indian and make dal all the time, I have never made it this way. Easy, delicious and my kind of comfort food! Thank you!
lol. why thank you
Love your recipes, this was so easy & tasty. Thanks so much.
thanks for popping in
So delicious! This recipe made such a tasty change to our traditional New Year’s Day lentil soup. I added red and blue potatoes, as well as carrots as the veg additions. The pops of colour from the spinach and fresh tomatoes against the gold of the turmeric-ed lentils make this such a pretty soup, too.
Top! Recipe saved to be made again ans often 🙂
Can I sub toor dal? No red lentils on the shelf
that is a good choice & they also have the same flavour profile
This was great and so easy to put together! I only recently found nigella seeds so it was my first time using them. Delicious! Thank you!
Awesome
Simple pantry staples, amazing result. Very forgiving if you are out of some of the spices. This is a favorite to make with big bunches of fresh mature spinach, as well as any vegetables. Good on its own or with rice, quinoa. Can also do in Instant Pot. Keeps/freezes great and is a hit at pot lucks. Thank you Richa, you are amazing and really enrich our lives 🙂