These Indian-Spiced Lentils are hearty and delicious and loaded with comforting flavors. If you’re not familiar with red lentils, they’re rich in fiber, protein, and nutrients and super quick cooking. This meal can be on the table in under 30 minutes when made on the stove top, or tossed in a slow cooker for later if you prefer that method. It’s delicious on its own, or served with some steak, chicken, or shrimp on the side. We love it over hot white rice with a dollop of plain yogurt. My kids all love it scooped up with Naan or these Easy Yogurt Flatbreads.
Ingredients Needed
- Red Lentils – find these in the dry goods near things like dried beans and peas
- Fresh spinach
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Onion
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger – you can sub dried if you need to
- Chicken broth – feel free to use vegetable broth for a vegetarian option
- Curry paste and/or powder – my favorite combo is both yellow curry paste and curry powder, more info below
- Spices: mustard seeds, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper
- Sugar – just a tiny touch to balance flavor
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh lemon or lime
- Cilantro
- Optional for serving: white rice, naan flatbread, plain greek yogurt, olive oil
How to make Indian Spiced Lentils
- Start by sautéing onions and garlic in a large pot.
- Add garlic, ginger, and spices. Sautéing your spices brings out the flavor!
- Add your canned tomatoes and broth and then stir in the lentils.
- This mixture will cook quickly. It only takes about 10-15 minutes.
- Finish off the dish by adding some fresh spinach to wilt, then some fresh cilatro and a squeeze of citrus to brighten the whole dish.
- You can eat these plain or over rice. We also love it scooped up with naan or another type of flatbread. It’s also great with a scoop of plain yogurt on top with a drizzle of olive oil.
Which curry should I use?
This recipe is flexible depending on your tastes. You can use a variety of curry pastes, or a curry powder. I actually like to add both! I do find you get an incredibly full, well-rounded flavor when using a curry paste, but I’ve been burned (literally haha) many times not realizing the curry paste I’m buying holds the heat of a thousand suns. My personal favorite is this dish is a yellow curry paste, and I’ve been buying this one from Amazon. Though sampled straight out of the jar you can feel a lot of heat, I sense zero spiciness when added to my dish. Here’s some tips:
- Start by adding just a little bit. Even like 1/4 teaspoon. You can then add more at the end to taste. I usually add about 2 teaspoons total, in addition to a teaspoon of curry powder.
- I like to put a cup full of my finished lentils in a small bowl and slowly add curry paste to dissolve completely and then add back into the pot. This helps not accidentally leaving a blob of paste in there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days or freeze in individual portions for a quick meal later. I love my Souper Cube containers for layering rice with lentils on top for a ready-to-go freezer meal.
It can be spicy if you like spice. If you want it heat-free, omit the cayenne pepper and make sure to not choose a curry paste with a high spice level.
You can but green lentils tend to hold their shape and have a little more texture than red lentils. They won’t melt into the soft texture that red lentils will. But they do stand up to extended cooking times, making them a good option for the slow cooker.
Yes! Feel free to replace some of the broth for coconut milk, or simply making the recipe as written and adding coconut milk at the end. It’s a very flexible dish.
Slow Cooker Indian Spiced Lentils
Equipment
- Slow Cooker optional
Ingredients
- 2-3 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 2-3 teaspoons yellow curry paste see notes
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth more if desired
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups red lentils
- 5-10 ounces spinach fresh and chopped or frozen and thawed
- juice of ½ lemon or one lime
- handful of chopped cilantro
For Serving (optional as desired)
- white rice
- additional chopped cilantro
- dollop of plain greek yogurt
- drizzle of olive oil
- naan or other flatbread
Instructions
- Pick through lentils and discard any shriveled ones. Rise well with cool water and strain.
- Heat a large stock pot on the stove top to medium heat. Add 2-3 teaspoons oil to coat bottom of pan and add onions. Saute for 4-5 minutes until tender.
- Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, curry paste (feel free to start with just a little curry paste and add more to taste later), coriander, cumin, cayenne, and mustard seeds. Saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
- Add diced tomatoes (do not drain), chicken broth, sugar, salt, pepper, and lentils.
- Bring pot to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cover pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes until lentils are softened. (tip: this is super flexible, if you need more liquid, add some. If it's not thick enough, just simmer longer)
- Add spinach and stir to wilt. You can add as much or as little spinach as you want. If you don't like large pieces of wilted spinach, just tear or chop it before adding.
- Finally add cilantro and lemon or lime juice and season with additional salt and pepper to taste. You can also add more curry paste if desired, I suggest dissolving it in a small cup full of the warm broth from your pot first and then adding back in.
- Serve over rice with naan on the side with a dollop of yogurt drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled withe additional salt, pepper, and cilantro.
Notes
- Start by adding just a little bit. Even like 1/4 teaspoon. You can then add more at the end to taste. I usually add about 2 teaspoons total, in addition to a teaspoon of curry powder.
- I like to put a cup full of my finished lentils in a small bowl and slowly add curry paste to dissolve completely and then add back into the pot. This helps not accidentally leaving a blob of paste in there.
Questions & Reviews
So, I made this earlier in the week, and I have to say–AWESOME…even though I forgot to add the lemon juice!
I ended up using a mix of curry powder and garam masala paste. Came out great! I’d suggest picking up some chana dahl if you can–it may give it an extra boost of authenticity!
Yum! We were looking for a way to work more lentils into our diet. Just made this and it was delish! Lots of flavor and very satisfying right down to your suggestions for the rice. This is a keeper 🙂
I just made this, and it is SO GOOD! I wanted something healthy for lunch but didn’t want to wait for my slow cooker, so I used my pressure cooker and cooked the lentil mixture for 4 minutes on high pressure. Delish! I’ve never really had Indian food or many recipes with curry in them, but I’m going to have to branch out. Thanks for another winning recipe!
Alicia, don’t know if you’ll ever read this comment, but thank you for YOUR comment! It’s 12 years later and I’m going to make this in the instant pot but didn’t want it to be mush. Appreciate you! (well and Kate/Sara for posting it!)
Look delicious! I can’t wait to try this. How big is one serving?
Thank you!
I used green lentils (all three times I’ve made it now :)) and they turned out great-I served it over quinoa tonight and the texture of the green lentils plus the quinoa was great and really filling!
Regarding the ginger issue…cooks illustrated did research on the best way to store ginger root. After much testing they reported (and I can concur) that you just throw the root into your fridge – no bag needed, just out in the air. I put it on the top ledge on the door -It will start to dry out, but it takes quite a long time to do so. Freezing it alters the texture and was deemed less desirable. Also – you peel the ginger (if you want to – I usually don’t bother if I’m grating it) using the edge of a spoon. Just scrape it along the root and the skin will come off. And great looking recipe! Thanks.
I made this for dinner tonight. It was rather tastey. I did a few random changes out of lazyness from not going to the store-I used kale instead of spinach, and added fresh basil in addition to the cilantro. And instead of sugar-I added 1.5 cups of raisens. Then for fun, and cleaning out the shelf I added a rinsed can of chick peas. It was a huge hit, this is a definate super easy make again! Thanks for the post.
Because curry powder is a mix of many spices adopted by British cooks who loved the tastes introduced to them in India – primarily: tumeric, fenugreek, coriander, cumin. Kind of like a Garam masala without so much masala. Mix your own if you can’t find a curry mix that suits.
This sounds delicious. Can you tell me what size crockpot you use? Thanks!
Lol, im pakistani, and i dont even own any curry