Dhal in a pot topped with chilli, coriander and oil

Sabzi dhal

Name: Sabzi dhal
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 500g masur dhal (red lentils); 200g steamed or cooked vegetables (try a combination of carrots, beans, cauliflower, sweetcorn, courgettes, aubergines, spinach or peas); 4 tbsp vegetable oil; 3-4 dried chillies; ½ tsp cumin seeds; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 small onion finely chopped; 1 tsp garlic paste; 1 tsp ginger paste; 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped; 2 tbsp coriander chopped; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; ½ tsp black mustard seeds; 4 dried red chillies; 1 garlic clove cut into slivers; 8 fresh curry leaves

Asma Khan

Save recipe

Serves 6

Easy

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 1 hr

plus soaking

A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 ratingRate

loading...

Get 5 months for £5 when you subscribe today

Combine frozen and fresh ingredients in this wholesome one-pot dhal created by Asma Khan, chef and owner of Darjeeling Express. It's a great way to use up leftovers.

Gluten free

Vegan

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Cheese naan bread

A star rating of 0 out of 5.0 ratings

Pilau rice

A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 rating

Baked onion bhajis

A star rating of 4.4 out of 5.3 ratings

Recreate this sabzi dhal, then check out our tarka dhal, coconut dhal with crispy paneer, slow cooker dhal and more dhal recipes.

This is a great one-pot dish which is wholesome and healing. It is also an excellent way to use up the remnants left in frozen vegetable bags in your freezer or fresh vegetables. You can even combine fresh and frozen vegetables in this dhal.

Asma Khan is chef-owner of Darjeeling Express where she heads up an all-woman kitchen team. She is author of Asma’s Indian Kitchen and Ammu. Follow her on Instagram @asmakhanlondon.

Ingredients

Nutrition

500g masur dhal (red lentils)
200g steamed or cooked vegetables

(try a combination of carrots, beans, cauliflower, sweetcorn, courgettes, aubergines, spinach or peas)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
3-4 dried chillies
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 small onion

finely chopped
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
2 medium tomatoes

finely chopped
2 tbsp coriander

chopped

Tempered oil

2 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp black mustard seeds
4 dried red chillies
1 garlic clove

cut into slivers
8 fresh curry leaves

Nutrition: per serving

kcal420
fat13.5g
saturates1.1g
carbs49.3g
sugars5g
fibre7.9g
protein21.5g
salt1.8g

Method

step 1

Wash the lentils in cold running water a few times until the water runs clear, then put in a bowl and soak for 30 mins in fresh cold water. Soaking the dhal quickens the cooking process. While the lentils are soaking, prepare the vegetables and cook by either steaming or briefly boiling. Once the vegetables are ready – do not let them overcook, they should still have bite – spread them out on a plate to cool and stop from becoming mushy.
step 2

Next, drain the lentils and put in a bowl. In a heavy-based, lidded pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil over a medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and dried chillies, followed by the lentils, turmeric and 1½ tsp of salt. Add 1.2 litres of warm water and bring to a boil. When the surface of the water is bubbling, cover the pan, lower the heat and simmer gently for 30 mins. Stir occasionally to ensure the dhal is not sticking to the base of the pan.
step 3

Once the dhal is cooked, leave it covered in the pan while preparing the vegetables. Put the remaining 2 tbsp of oil in a shallow frying pan over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions and cook for a few minutes until softened, then add the ginger and garlic pastes, and cook for a minute until the raw smell disappears. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook until they have broken down to a pulp. Add ½ tsp of salt and the cooked vegetables, stirring to mix the contents of the pan.
step 4

Gently pour the mixed vegetables into the dhal. Taste for seasoning and adjust. The dhal can be left to cool and then chilled at this point if you plan to eat this later – this is a great dish to serve when inviting people to your house as you can prepare it the day before or earlier in the day, and reheat and temper just before serving.
step 5

Just before tempering the oil, make sure you reheat the dhal until steaming hot. Warm the oil in a small frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds first and wait until you hear them pop before adding all the remaining tempering ingredients. Keep stirring until the garlic is just turning brown. Carefully pour everything plus the oil in the pan on top of the dhal. Garnish with coriander before serving.

Discover more dhal recipes

Authors

Asma Khan at Darjeeling Express

Asma Khan

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 rating

Want to see this content?

This page contains olivemagazine content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.

Accept and continue