Red Lentil Coconut Curry With Coconut Milk

Name: Red Lentil Coconut Curry With Coconut Milk
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 15 ounce can full-fat coconut milk; 9 ounces dried red lentils (1 ⅓ cups); 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved); 2 onions (peeled and diced); 2 carrots (peeled and diced); 1 head of garlic (peeled and minced (about 15 cloves garlic)); 3 2- inch-long fat lengths of fresh ginger (peeled and minced); 3 small (hot, red chilis, minced, optionally with seeds removed); 1 tablespoon garam masala; 1 teaspoon vegetable oil; Salt and black pepper to taste; 2 tablespoons plain yogurt; 1 small bunch of fresh cilantro

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Do you need a tasty dish that’s vegan, packed with protein and incredibly delicious? Red Lentil Coconut Curry is one of my favorite lentil recipes and possibly my all-time favorite lentil curry recipe! Rich with coconut milk, full of aromatics and spices, and deeply hearty, there’s a good reason why so many Indian people say this simple recipe is their all-time favorite comfort food meal. Let’s find out more.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Red lentil coconut curry is truly the comforting meal of your dreams. You’ll love my vegan red lentil curry for reasons like:
Red lentils are packed with healthy protein, making this an extra-filling vegetarian meal!
Making a red lentil curry with creamy coconut milk means that it’s even creamier and more delicious!
Coconut milk is much healthier than animal fats like milk and cream.
Vegan, but even the meat-eaters will love it!
Quick-to-make Indian dish, and no need to soak the lentils in advance.
Delicious enough for a dinner party; easy enough for a quick, family-friendly meal.
A great cool-weather meal as the seasons are changing.

Inspiration Behind Red Lentil Coconut Curry

Many people from the Indian subcontinent name daal as their top comfort food, typically a childhood favorite cooked by their mothers or grandmothers. Also known as coconut red lentil daal or red lentil dahl (or even sometimes dhal), my red lentil coconut curry is inspired by one such Indian grandmother.
When I was learning about Indian cooking, I asked her how much garlic and ginger to add to this curry, and she replied, “twice the amount you think you need.” Well, I love garlic and ginger – and I also just love instructions like that! I knew I had to apply her advice immediately and master this jewel of Indian cuisine.

red lentil curry in 2 white bowls on a white backgroun

Red Lentil Coconut Curry Ingredient List

To make coconut red lentil curry, you’ll need the following simple ingredients:
15 ounce can full-fat coconut milk
9 ounces dried red lentils (1 ⅓ cups)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 onions, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 head of garlic, peeled and minced (about 15 cloves garlic)
3 2-inch-long fat lengths of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 small, hot, red chilis, minced, optionally with seeds removed
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

To serve

2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro

Ingredients for red lentil coconut curry

Ingredient Substitutes

If you’re missing any of the above ingredients, you can sub in one of the following:

Full fat coconut milk: You can use light coconut milk instead, though the result will be less creamy, lighter meal. In traditional Indian cooking, coconut milk is skipped altogether while making dahl, and they use water and cook the dahl on low heat for a much longer time than this recipe – it tastes amazing as well!
Cherry tomatoes: Use regular tomatoes and cut them into chunks.
Carrots: Sweet potatoes will work as well!
Red lentils: The dish is still very good with green lentils or brown lentils. They may take a little longer to cook.
Red chilis: Green chilis will change the flavor slightly but are still very good. Alternatively, you can use chili powder or skip the chilis altogether if you don’t want your curry spicy.
Garam masala: Ground cumin is a great alternative.
Plain yogurt: Use vegan yogurt if you like.

Variations

If you don’t need the red lentil curry to be vegan, you can make it with regular milk instead. I love it, but some people don’t like the flavor of coconut milk.
Experiment with a different combination of curry spices. Try using your favorite medium curry powder.
For a strong curry or hot curry, add more chilis.
For a variation that has a more Thai flavor, don’t use any dried ground spices, but add red curry paste, chopped lemongrass and lime leaves to the mix, and finish with lime juice.

How to Make Red Lentil Coconut Curry Recipe With Easy Cooking Steps
Cooking Tools

To make this recipe, you’ll need:
Chopping board
Kitchen knife
Large saucepan
Mezzaluna knife (optional)

Cooking Method

Simmering

Preparation Steps

Assemble all the tools and ingredients.
Peel and dice the onion and carrots.
Peel and mince the garlic cloves and ginger.
Finely chop the chilis.
Rinse the lentils.
Halve the cherry tomatoes.
Chop the cilantro sprigs.

Cooking Steps

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat, and add the onions and carrots with a generous pinch of salt. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until softened and starting to color at the edges.
Add the garlic, ginger, and chilis. Stir to combine, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
Add the lentils and the garam masala. Cook for just 1-2 minutes, until fragrant, then add the canned coconut milk, cherry tomatoes, and a pinch of salt.
Pour in about 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let the curry simmer.
Cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the lentils are tender. You may need to top up with a little extra water during cooking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the creamy curry lentils into bowls, add a spoon of plain yogurt, and scatter with cilantro.
Serve with rice or naan bread.

Alternative Method

You can also make red lentil curry in a slow cooker or pressure cooker. For Instant Pot lentil curry, add all the ingredients to the bowl of the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
For red lentil coconut curry soup, just add more water to thin out the mix to a soupy consistency. Coconut curry lentil soup may also need a little more salt.

Best Tips to Ace This Recipe

Remember that friendly Indian grandmother? Take her advice, and don’t stint on the garlic and ginger. I know it seems like a lot, but trust me, it builds up a great flavor base, and you’ll understand why when you taste the final result!
But you do want to make sure that the garlic and ginger is well chopped, so the flavors dissolve into the curry. My best tip here is to use a curved mezzaluna knife, to make chopping quicker and easier.
Don’t forget to taste and adjust the seasoning before serving. Lentils can have a tendency to swallow other flavors, and you’ll probably need more salt than expected.

Time-Saving Tips

Even with a mezzaluna, there’s no denying that mincing all that garlic and ginger can be time-consuming. Save time by buying garlic and ginger paste in a jar. It’s not quite as tasty as fresh, but is a perfectly adequate substitute.
Chop all the vegetables in advance and keep them in the fridge for up to a few hours until ready to cook.
It’s a good make-ahead meal. You can make the whole dish in advance and reheat it when needed. It is beautifully kept in the fridge, so there is no need to do all the work at the last minute.

What to Serve with Red Lentil Coconut Curry?

Serve your red lentil coconut curry with rice or naan bread. I particularly like it with brown rice. The flavor combination with brown rice is just magnificent!
I also love to add some sauces or pickles on the side – very Indian! Try one of these out with the red lentil curry:

How To Store Red Lentil Coconut Curry?

Red lentil coconut curry keeps very well in the fridge. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. It should stay good for up to a week. You can also freeze it. Leave enough head room for it to expand a little, and store in the freezer for up to three months.
Defrost overnight in the fridge.
To reheat, add to a pan with a small splash of water in the bottom. Place over medium-low heat until warmed through, stirring regularly to prevent sticking.
Alternatively, put the lentil curry in a microwave-safe dish and cover. Heat on medium wattage until hot throughout, stirring every 30 seconds.

Conclusion

Next time you have vegan friends round for dinner, serve them this Red Lentil Coconut Curry! It’ll be a guaranteed success with the vegetarians and meat-eaters too, with its creamy and satisfying flavor. Whether served alone as an hearty dish or as part of an Indian-inspired spread, this recipe is bound to please. Let me know in the comments if you find it as delicious as I do!

More Healthy Vegetarian Indian Recipes

Looking for more healthy vegetarian Indian curries? Try out one of these:

FAQs

Do you have to soak red lentils before cooking?

You don’t have to soak red lentils before cooking, but you might like to do so to reduce cooking time. And if you’re wondering what happens if you forget to wash red lentils, the answer is nothing much. It’s definitely better to rinse them, but no big problem if you forgot.

How long do red split lentils take to cook?

Red split lentils cook very quickly, usually becoming tender within 15 minutes or less of cooking with liquid.

Does salt stop lentils from cooking?

No, salt does not stop lentils from cooking. It is a common myth that salted water makes lentils and beans hard, but this has now been comprehensively disproved. Salt added to the cooking liquid is beneficial for flavor and does not affect texture.

Red Lentil Coconut Curry With Coconut Milk

FitMealIdeas

Red Lentil Coconut Curry is one of my favorite lentil recipes and possibly my all-time favorite lentil curry recipe! Rich with coconut milk, full of aromatics and spices, and deeply hearty, there’s a good reason why so many Indian people say this simple recipe is their all-time favorite comfort food meal.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Dinner, lunch

Cuisine Indian

Servings

Calories 518 kcal