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
Recipe Card
Turmeric Spinach Golden Lentil Dal - Red Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (90 g) red lentils washed and drained well
- 1 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) mustard seeds
- 1/3 tsp (0.33 tsp) cumin seeds
- 1/3 tsp (0.33 tsp) nigella seeds
- 1/8 tsp (0.13 tsp) fennel seeds optional
- 1/8 tsp (0.13 tsp) fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) or more ground turmeric
- 1/3 tsp (0.33 tsp) or more cayenne
- 2/3 tsp (0.67 tsp) salt or more
- 2.5 cups (625 ml) of water
- 1 cup (30 g) 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
Watch: This amazing and touching clip where Chimpanzees, that were freed from a life lived only in testing labs some decades ago, who are now living in a preserve, meet Linda Koebner, who helped them transition to their new life. After 18 years, they still remember her, hug her and cry with her.
Organizations have been trying to get Chimpanzees a non human person status and some legal rights to protect them against confinement in labs or other ways. Read more about the Non human Rights Project here.
Local news. On July 9th, join Dr. Joanne Kong in Tacoma,WA for “The Power of Plant-Based Eating” a free presentation as a part of fundraising for a farm animal rescue plan. Find more details here.
Rachel
Hi Richa!
For adding extra veg, how much would you add for the quantities (for 2 servings) in the recipe as written? And would it be an extra third-ish of the spices?
I don’t want to dilute out the flavours too much!
Also, do you normally prefer to add the tomato, or leave it without?
Thanks so much!
Rachel
Oh and also – do you prefer it with or without the extra chopped veggies?
Vegan Richa Support
It’s great to use up extra veg so I usually add some.
Rachel
Oh and do you prefer it with or without the extra chop veggies? Ta!
Vegan Richa Support
1-2 cups of veg and an extra third of each spice works well. I like to add tomato for an extra pop of flavor. Enjoy!
Michelle
Hi there! If I don’t have fenugreek seeds, but have some Kasoori Methi, would that work okay? If yes, any info on amount / when to add would be most appreciated! Thank you!
Richa
Use double the amount in leaves
Michelle
Thank you so much! 💐🌟😊
Aurélie
Just made this last night. Easy, quick and delicious. I added curry leaves because I had some. Thank you so much!
Richa
Awesome
Sumitra
I think I’m in love with you! This week I’ve tried 3 of your recipes and they have all been divine! (one is still chilling in the fridge, but it already tastes so good!). Honestly! This is amazing! Though I’m Indian and make dal all the time, I have never made it this way. Easy, delicious and my kind of comfort food! Thank you!
Vegan Richa Support
lol. why thank you
Lou
Love your recipes, this was so easy & tasty. Thanks so much.
Vegan Richa Support
thanks for popping in
Fenice
So delicious! This recipe made such a tasty change to our traditional New Year’s Day lentil soup. I added red and blue potatoes, as well as carrots as the veg additions. The pops of colour from the spinach and fresh tomatoes against the gold of the turmeric-ed lentils make this such a pretty soup, too.
Nadia
Top! Recipe saved to be made again ans often 🙂
Jenifer
Can I sub toor dal? No red lentils on the shelf
Vegan Richa Support
that is a good choice & they also have the same flavour profile
Paula
This was great and so easy to put together! I only recently found nigella seeds so it was my first time using them. Delicious! Thank you!
Richa
Awesome
Amber
Simple pantry staples, amazing result. Very forgiving if you are out of some of the spices. This is a favorite to make with big bunches of fresh mature spinach, as well as any vegetables. Good on its own or with rice, quinoa. Can also do in Instant Pot. Keeps/freezes great and is a hit at pot lucks. Thank you Richa, you are amazing and really enrich our lives 🙂
Susan Sparkes
How long would you cook this in the Instant Pot? I’m thinking only a few minutes for red lentils. Been using a lot of brown lentils lately, your Aloo Palak Dal being a particular favourite, but with the Covid 19 panic buying everyone else seems to have discovered the joys of lentils in the Indian foods aisle at the supermarket. So working with what I have in the cupboard. Your moong dal ‘omelette’ is a big hit!
Richa
red lentils usually need 3 mins pressure cooking time. If adding lots of veggies then add 2-3 more mins.
erica
I’ve made this multiple times now, adding in different veg, and each time it turns out perfectly yummy! Perfect on a cold night, and excellent as a left-over lunch. Healthy & delicious. Make this, and double the recipe!!! Thanks, Richa!
Richa
awesome
Thea
I almost never leave comments, but after weeks of nights shifts and eating junk or just being too tired to eat dinner at all, I had had enough, searched up “quick vegan recipes” and found this gem.
While I’m not going to say I followed the recipe to a “T” (I was out of nigella seeds and couldn’t find my cayenne, so I substituted ginger, red pepper flakes and some veggie boullion), I can safely say that this recipe was delicious. At 2:30 am, the last thing I wanted to do was cook, but it came together (beautifully) in 20 minutes with basically all of that being simmering time and zero prep. It was so flavourful, it tasted like it had been simmering for hours!
Will definitely be making this again.
Richa
awesome!
Jessica
Could I substitute moong dal here?
Richa
Yes, you will need to cook about 10 min longer
Jessica Marie Shepherd
Worked out great, thanks!
Jordan
This soup is so simple to make but has amazing flavour. As soon as that combination of whole spices fell into the hot oil, the gorgeous fragrance let me know that this was going to be delicious . . . and it was! I added some thinly sliced little carrots and some rather limp chopped celery with a finely chopped garlic scape. My husband has had a cold/viral infection for about 3 weeks and he said this soup made him feel so much better. Thanks for all your delicious recipes, Richa!
Richa
Thats awesome! Hope he feels beter soon
Shannon Brisbois
This is the best lentil dal I’ve ever made! And quick and easy to make! I love the flavor that the toasted spices give this very delicious soup! I’ve also made the lentil tortilla soup and looove it too! You are a very talented chef~ thank you so much for creating and sharing such delicious vegan recipes! I can’t wait to try more! ☺️
Richa
yay!
Ma
I’m gonna cook this for all my colleagues at work! Do you think I can add peanut butter to impress them even more?? Thanks for your recipes! They are all amazing!!
Richa
Sure, add 1-2 tbsp so that it doesnt overpower the overall flavor.
Ma
Thanks 🙂
i made it, they loved it!!!
Sean
would throwing some coconut milk in here be a good idea? Not sure if it will just overwelm all the other flavours or not but I got a couple cans kicking around and i thought maybe it’d be a good mix.
Richa
it will work just fine. sub some of the water with the coconut milk
Noya
Made this today and it’s SO good! Tripled the recipe and added an onion, 2 carrots and 2 small potatoes for the veggies. Wondering if this freezes well ? Thanks for the recipe I’ll definitely make it again!
Richa
awesome! yes definitely. Freeze in a container with the least amount of air onthe top to avoid freezer burn.
Danielle
Hi! How much extra spices should we use if we add vegetables?
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Vegan Richa Support
about a third more of each
Jane
Made exactly as is and my veggies were fennel and pumpkin. It was superb! Thank you Richa – felt a bit ‘meh’ about cooking dinner tonight and this was a really interesting flavour combo and really like a restaurant dish (but probably better as many of them make the food too oily).
Richa
awesome!
Joanie
This was delicious! I made a double recipe & next time I will triple or quadruple it; it was that good. I have to have leftovers.
I added carrots & quite a bit more spinach than the recipe called for (my husband loves spinach). I also add 50% more cayenne for a bit more spiciness. Definitely a keeper.
Richa
awesome! Yes teh extra veggies and spinach will need extra spicing:)
Shreyas
what would be some of the vegetables you would use?
Richa
cauliflower, zucchini, potato, pumpkin or sweet potato
Mary Claire
Tried this and LOVED it! We’ve been vegan for over 15 years and don’t eat onions or garlic. SO much flavor in this recipe! I even left out the salt and used the juice 1/2 lemon and a T. of apple cider vinegar as a replacement. Worked great with your recipe!!! Thanks so much! I share your recipes on my vegan FB a lot. Wonderful recipes!
Mary Claire
In my comment above, the form would not allow me to select stars for some reason. I give it 5 STARS!
Jill
Hi, LOVE this recipe! I make it all the time. Is it in your cookbooks? I have both of them and I’ve looked. Is it under a different name? Thank you 😀
Richa
The Odia Dal in the first book (pg 100) is similar but its not the same. Some variations in Dals, make them a new dal 🙂 . Use the Odia dal, add some spinach and use lentils of choice.
Tania Di Nardo
I don’t even really like dal, but my husband does so I tried to find a recipe that piqued my interest as well. This dish did not disappoint. I’ve never had a more flavourful dal! I also highly recommend adding the spinach and fresh tomatoes at the end as it added great body.
Alisha
Tried it this weekend – it was fantastic! Love those whole-roasted spices.
Nathan
This is one of my favorite, quick dals – and SO delicious. Easy enough for a weeknight dinner. I always double it since it’s just as good the next day.
Richa
Thanks!
Marta
Hi Richa, I made this tonight and I just loved it. It’s also so quickly done!
Just one question: when you write mustard seeds not specifying the color, do you mean the yellow ones or the dark ones? In the doubt I put the dark ones, it was excellent.
Richa
I usually mean dark mustard seeds, but you can use yellow if you dont have the black ones on hand.
Marta
Thank you!
As “veggies of your choice” I put some hokkaido pumpkin… don’t know if that’s very indian, but it was awesome in taste 🙂
Steve Warren
Fantasticly easy and well worth trying. Thanks! Been looking for recipes to use our Bengali 5 Spice with and this one is my favourite. Thanks Richa,
Terri Basile
This does taste as good as it looks, no changes needed. Next time I will make a double recipe.
Stephen Dallas
Excellent!!
I made this dish last night with some modifications.
I do not use added fats when cooking, and so instead of oil I caramelized 1/2 of a sweet yellow onion and then added the spices. I doubled the amount of spinach, added a chopped tomato and some shiitake mushrooms. We ate it on basmati brown rice, how delightful.
Thank you.
Richa
Sounds Awesome!
Cassie
I’ve never really gotten myself to try daal, and maybe I really should! So, I think that it would be very wise that I try out this wonderful recipe sometime!
Zena | Zena 'n Zaatar
Cannot wait to try this one!! Red lentil Dahl is my fave! I love the colors of this dish 🙂
Mae
I LOVE dal recipes! This one looks so easy and delicious. That chimp video made me cry!! Happy tears, of course 🙂 Thanks for plug!
Richa
That video and the whole series is basically tears for all of the feelings. pain and happiness. Chimps are abused so much in so many fields.
Kate
This looks amazing! Delicious flavors!
Izzy Bruning
Wow this looks so yummy!