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–+ servings
panful of vegan dalcha
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5 from 4 votes

Vegan Dalcha

This South Indian Lentil meat stew - Dalcha, has lentils or split peas cooked with spices, coconut milk and meat to make a hearty stew that is served with rice Biryani. We use soycurls to make a glorious vegan dalcha. Glutenfree Nutfree recipe. Soyfree option
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: South Indian
Keyword: veg dalcha, vegan dalcha, vegetarian dalcha recipe
Servings: 4
Author: Vegan Richa

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 cup chopped red onion
  • 1 hot green chili like serrano or Indian chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste or minced ginger and garlic (1 1/2 teaspoons each)
  • 2 ounces dried soy curls soaked in broth for 10 minutes
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup coconut cream (thick part from a can of full fat coconut milk)
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or use paprika
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup red lentils or other lentils or split peas of choice(such as toor dal or Chana dal)
  • 1/2 cup green beans or other veggies of choice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups water

For the tempering(seasoned oil)

  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • 1 teaspoon julienne ginger
  • 10 curry leaves fresh or frozen
  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the dalcha.

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the cloves, black peppercorns, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick and mix in. Cook for half a minute or until the spices are fragrant. Then add the onion, green chili, and a good pinch of salt and mix well. Cook for 7 to 9 minutes, or until the onions start to turn golden. Add the ginger-garlic paste, ground spices, tomato paste, and soy curls and mix well for a minute to combine.
  • Add the salt and coconut cream and mix well. Cook for a minute. Then add in the lentils, green beans or veggies of choice , and water and mix really well. Partially cover and cook for 14 to 18 minutes, depending on the lentils you are using and the consistency you prefer.  (You can use 2 cups of water with 1 cup of coconut milk here to make the lentils more creamy)
  • Once the lentils are cooked to your preference, taste and adjust the salt and flavor. If you like the dalcha more saucy, you can add in some more water or coconut milk at this point and bring to a boil. Switch off the heat and set aside.

Prepare the tempering.

  • Heat the oil in a small skillet, and once hot add the ginger, curry leaves, and cilantro and mix carefully for a few seconds. Switch off the heat.
  • Drizzle the tempering including the leaves all over the dalcha and serve over rice, Biryani or naan. You can also serve this stew as-is or with a little bit of garlic bread on the side.
  • Storage: Store refrigerated for upto 3 days. Soycurls absorb more as they sit so you can add some non dairy milk during heating. Or freeze for upto 2 months .

Video

Notes

Variations: Once the onion is golden ,reserve some of it to use as garnish later on.
You can use red lentils (masoor dal), yellow lentils (moong dal), or chana dal (split chickpeas). Chana dal needs about 50 minutes to cook so you might want to pre-cook it in a pressure cooker and add them to the dish with less liquid.
Vegan dalcha is naturally gluten-free and nut-free.
Soyfree : you can use seitan or other soy-free vegan chicken substitutes. You can also use drained, canned chickpeas instead.

Nutrition

Calories: 344kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 540mg | Potassium: 581mg | Fiber: 19g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 368IU | Vitamin C: 60mg | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 6mg