All About Dal And How to Use it in All Kinds of Dishes (With Recipes!)

Dal (which is also spelled as dahl or daal) is a Hindi word meaning lentils. This ingredient stars in Indian cooking, where it is prepared with several spices and takes on a unique taste.

Lentils are one of my go-to ingredients for a plant-based diet because they offer a high amount of nutrition, fiber, and protein with a low amount of fat. Just a ¼ cup serving of dry lentils contains 165 calories. The perks keep getting better: these nutritious legumes are also cheap, can be bought in bulk, and have a long shelf life.

What also makes dal/lentils so fantastic for the vegan diet is that they come in different colors, which adds variety to meals. Among the kinds of lentils in the world are brown, black, French green, red split, petite crimson, yellow, and white lentils.

Dal dishes in India are complex and rich in taste. If you’re new to vegan cooking, looking at recipes with seemingly endless ingredients can be a bit daunting.

As a starter recipe, try making a simple lentil dal. First, sauté onions, garlic, and ginger in olive oil, then stir in the other ingredients, bring to a boil, and let it cook for 20-30 minutes. Once you remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick and add some garnishes, you’ll have a delicious, filling meal.

After you’ve mastered a simple dal recipe, try branching out by making more complex dishes with more ingredients. This Masoor Dal (Lentil) recipe calls for many of the same spices as the simple lentil dal, adding cardamom seed, lemon juice, and coconut milk to the mix. Use tuvar dal (pigeon pea lentils) in this Indian Tangy Lentils with Curry Leaves and Red Chilies recipe, and use green lentils in this Sophie Dal recipe. Other dal recipes to try are Pigeon Pea Soup with Opo Squash and South Indian Lentil Stew.

Also, get creative and add dal to any dish you could imagine. Hosting a party soon? Choose gorgeous-colored lentils for dazzling dinner dishes you’ll want to share with a group around a table, such as a lentil loaf or lentil-kale vegan risotto. With a blender, you can easily make Pureed Lentil Dip with Caramelized Leeks, and you can always opt for a cold lentil salad as well.

Now, check out some of our most beautiful, nutritious, and delicious Dal recipes here:

The Sophie Dal

Spicy Lentil Salad

Lentil – Kale Vegan Risotto 

Masoor Dal

Indian Tangy Lentils with Curry Leaves and Red Chiles

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental well-being, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, and prostate cancer, and has many side effects.

For those of you interested in eating more plant-based we highly recommend grabbing our favorite plant-based cookbooks and downloading the Food Monster App — with over 20,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals, and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some great resources to get you started:

• Weekly Vegan Meal Plans
• Plant-Based Health Resources
• Plant-Based Food & Recipes
• Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
• The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
• Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Recipes
• High Protein Plant-Based Recipes
• Plant-Based Meal Prep
• Plant-Based Cookbooks 

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