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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
Turmeric Spinach Golden Lentil Dal - Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red lentils, washed and drained well
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/3 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/3 tsp nigella seeds
- 1/8 tsp fennel seeds, optional
- 1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 tsp or more ground turmeric
- 1/3 tsp or more cayenne
- 2/3 tsp salt or more
- 2.5 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 tomatoes at this point.
- 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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Another quick, easy and delicious recipe.
I made mine a little bit more soupy as that was what I was craving. I also added zucchini, mushroom and tomato as they needed using.
An extremely versatile recipe.
Thank you for making meal times easy.
Glad you liked it!
This is one of my all-time go-to recipes. I have committed it to memory and recommend it to friends. I love that it makes for an easy meal without even chopping anything (though adding the tomato and spinach is easy and makes it even better). Thank you for this recipe!
Yay!! Glad to hear it.
I’ve used this recipe several times with anything I have on hand and it’s been delicious every single time. It’s a quick, easy dinner from pantry staples.
yay! glad you enjoy.
In the recipe method you mention tomatoes, but these are omitted from the list of ingredients…
You can add 1 tomato