Green Mango and Masoor Dal | Aamer Dal | Tok Dal

Green Mango goes well with Indian lentils, and this time we pair it with Masoor Dal (called red lentils outside of India, but not to be confused with Indian red gram dal / toor dal). The recipe today is a tangy, simple Bengali dish with a touch of mustard oil. Simply spiced, it is delicious.

This recipe can also be made with Mung Dal instead of Masoor Dal, or with a mixture of both.

Similar recipes include  Ambe Dal (Channa Dal with Green Mango), Mung Dal with Green Mango, Green Mango and Coconut Rice, Green Mango in Coconut Milk, and Masoor Dal with Green Chillies.

Browse our Green Mango recipes and our Dals. Our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials here. Or explore our Early Spring dishes.

Thai Inspired Red Lentil Soup with Aromatic Chilli Oil

When Autumn arrives, the first thing I make is Rice Pudding. For Ottolenghi it is this Thai inspired soup that he makes when the arrival of autumn is officially announced. And what a way to celebrate Autumn! It is fresh, creamy and loaded with flavour. Great choice, Ottolenghi!

Making this soup with split red lentils (masoor dal) will give you a brighter coloured, but it can also be made with whole red lentils. The recipe does not specify which one. Whole lentils provide a deeper flavour and darker colour, and they won’t blend to as smooth a soup, but are just as fine to use if you prefer to. I have made today’s soup with whole lentils.

This is an Ottolenghi dish from Plenty More. It is Ottolenghi day on the blog – one of two days per month where we publish all the latest posts of recipes we have tried in our project of cooking from Ottolenghi books – currently we are cooking from Plenty More, but not ignoring his other books completely. Note that I often massage the recipes to suit what is available from our garden and pantry. For the original recipes, check his books and his Guardian column.

Similar recipes include Red Lentil Soup with Thick Yoghurt, Red Lentil Soup with Spices, Ginger and Garlic, and Masoor Dal with Green Peppers.

Browse all of our Red Lentil dishes and all of our Soups. Our Ottolenghi dishes from Plenty More are here. We have written about our experiences cooking through this book. Or explore our Mid Autumn dishes.

Masoor Gram Dal with Green Peppers | Whole Red Lentil Dal

I usually turn to mung beans when I feel like a bit of comfort and nourishment, but today it is whole red lentils, masoor gram. This recipe is very simple, very easy, very home-cooking style, and very delicious. It has the taste of coriander and cinnamon, and has green capsicums added for additional flavour and texture. This is uncommon, but not unusual, and we love the taste and texture.

Similar recipes include Masoor Dal with Green Chillies, Masoor Sprouts Rice, and Daikon Dal.

Browse all of our Dals and all of our Masoor recipes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Mid Summer dishes.

Norom Shada Khichuri | Latka Kitchari | Bengali Soft Kitchari

Bengalis love their kitchari, and love the rain. Often the two go together – as the rains come, the consumption of kitchari increases exponentially.

There are dozens of types of Kitchari. It is eaten in different forms all over India, but even in Bengal alone, many varieties exist. Kitchari style dishes can vary from pilaf/pulao-like dishes, to the more porridge-like Pongals of Tamil Nadu and the beloved Bisibelebath of Karnataka.

This kitchari is a well-cooked – that is, it is quite soft and moist, almost slightly soupy. It is delicious and it is perfect on a rainy day, any where in the world. The defining characteristics of this kitchari is that it is very soft (norom) and white, as well as healthy.  It is mostly tempered with onion and garlic. (It can also be served very soupy, almost like an Indian version of Chinese Congee. We will add a recipe for this version later on and add a link here.)

I have seen Kitchari referred to as Hodgepodge. My goodness! A hodgepodge is a random assortment of things — a group of things that don’t quite fit together. There is a dish from Nova Scotia called Hodgepodge but it is nothing like Kitchari. It is a collection of beans, peas and potatoes cooked in one pot. It is also common to call Kitchari as risotto. Again this is a great misnomer. Kitchari must be one of the most well known of Indian dishes outside of India, thus it is surprising to see Indian cooks give it other names. You can read more about that here.

Are you after similar dishes? Try Bisi Bele Huriyanna, Congee Bowls, Goan Bisibelebath, Bengali Vegetable Kitchari, Gujarati Kitchari, and Bengali Bhog Kitchari.

Or are you looking for other Bengali dishes. Try Bengali Rice Kheer.  There are more Bengali dishes coming, so check back here.

Browse all of our Kitchari recipes and all of our Bengali dishes. Our Indian recipes are here. Or take some time to explore our lovely Late Autumn dishes.

Masoor Dal with Green Chillies

The thing about Vegetarian food is there is not much that is fast food, unless you look in the processed aisle of the supermarket. But if you are cooking from scratch, there is generally a reasonable amount of time needed to soak, bake, cook, spice, grind, roast, toast and so forth. Pasta is one laudable exception, and masoor dal (split red lentils as they are called here) another. They are fast in as much as 20 – 30 mins can be called fast. Longer than it might take for some non-veg meals, but quick in the terms of veg feasts.

This dal, made from masoor dal, is as quick as it gets. I hope you enjoy it.

Similar recipes include Dal Tadka, Mung Dal with Cumin and Spices, and Amritsari Dal.

Browse all of our Dal recipes and all of our Masoor Dal dishes. All of our Indian recipes are here. Or take some time to explore our Mid Winter dishes.

Red Lentils and Mung Dal | Masoor Dal and Mung Dal from Assam

Red lentils, as they are called here, or Masoor Dal, have made a reappearance in this kitchen after we received a large bag of them as a gift. How wonderful to have friends and relatives that gift odd bits and pieces to our pantry – I love them all.

Truly, I had forgotten how wonderful red lentils are, even though we have some stunning dishes that feature them. Red Lentil Soup with Garlic, for example, and also the Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Thick Thick Yoghurt.

Today we are making a Dal from the Assam region in North East India that mixes both split red lentils and mung dal. It is tasty, substantial, healthy and nourishing. The recipe uses mustard oil for a wonderful tang, but ghee can be substituted if preferred.

Are you after Dal recipes? Try  Masoor Dal with Green Chillies, Dal Tadka, Monk’s Dal and Urad Dal with Tomatoes.

You can check all of our Red Lentil recipes, our Mung Dal dishes, and our Dals. Browse our Indian recipes here. Or take some time to explore our Mid Winter dishes.

Masoor Sprouts Rice | Maharashtrian Kitchari | Khichuri

Today’s recipe is a kitchari from Maharashtra that incorporates sprouts made from masoor lentils, and which uses Goda Masala. Goda Masala is a spice mix unique to Maharashtra. I should say, one of the several spice mixes unique to that state of India. It is a spice mix that is complex and layered in flavours. There are a whole range of dishes that use it (e.g. Masoor Sprouts Usal), and we intend to make a few over the next weeks.

Goda Masala can be difficult to get outside of Maharashtra – try in North Indian groceries, because those specialising in South Indian ingredients won’t have heard of it. You can try to make your own masala – I generally prefer to do this, but several of the spices used in Goda Masala are hard to find outside of Maharashtra, even in India.

This kitchari is pilaf style rather than the South Indian style which is more porridge-like. It uses the long grained basmati rice rather than the shorter grained rice of South India.

Similar recipes include Goan Bisibelebath.

Browse other Goda Masala recipes and our Kitchari recipes. There are other sprouts recipes, and browse all of our Maharashtrian recipes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Late Spring recipes.

Sprouted Masoor Usal

A long time ago, an Indian friend sent me a recipe for Masoor Usal – the one that her mother makes. All this time later, I have forgotten who that was. (If it is you, please let me know!)

All I can say is that this recipe is wonderful. Deep comforting flavours, soupy enough to eat with rice, but with the ability to control the liquid if you prefer it as a side dish.

Our other Usal recipes are here. You might like to browse other Sprouts recipes, or other Masoor lentil recipes. Take some time and explore all of our Indian recipes. Or simply browse our Late Spring dishes.

Red Lentil (Masoor Dal) Sprouts Sundal | Stir Fried Sprouts with Spices and Coconut

A gorgeous side dish of sprouted lentils today. Gorgeous AND delicious, South Indian sundals are dry lentil dishes with spices. They are a traditional food during the Navaratri Hindu Festival.

Similar recipes include Lentil Salad with Pomegranate Molasses, Urad Dal Sundal, Channa (Chickpea) Sundal, Sprouted Green Gram Sundal, and White Peas Sundal. Or you can make a sundal with Coconut, White Peas and Greeen Mango, equally as delicious.

We have many sundal recipes – you can explore them here. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Early Spring recipes.

Spicy Rustic Red Lentil Soup with Thick Thick Yoghurt

In my palette of dried beans and lentils, it is the red lentil that is used least of all. I am not sure why. Its colour is lively, it is so easy to cook, does not require previous soaking and it falls to a wonderful creamy mush as it cooks. Perfect for when there is never enough time.

Red lentils were one of the four pulses commonly available as I was growing up – red lentils, split peas,  yellow split peas, barley – and was often thrown by the handful into overcooked soups and stews, left bland and forgotten at the bottom of the dish in an era when spices and herbs were not to be found in any Proper Country Australian Housewife’s kitchen. These women knew how to cook vegetables and meat for their men, but not “these dried things”.

That certainly has changed. This red lentil, called Masoor Dal in India, has a solid place in the pantry now. It is not to be confused with Toor Dal, commonly called Red Gram or Red Lentils in Indian recipes.

Are you looking for similar recipes? Try Thai Red Lentil Soup,  Red Lentil Soup with Ginger, Garlic and Spices, and Red Lentils and Mung Dal.

Browse all of our Red Lentil recipes and all of our Soups. We have other Turkish recipes. Or find inspiration in our easy Early Winter recipes.