Spicy Green Lentils and Yellow Split Peas


Visit the Indian Food Glossary for information on the ingredients in this recipe
Spicy Green Lentils and Yellow Split Peas

My trusted copy of 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer has once again come to the rescue when I needed a quick but satisfying meal solution to end a particularly dreary and trying week. In times of woe, it's easy to resort to restaurant meals, but I never forget that home cooked meals are not only more nourishing, but cheaper and generally superior in taste. The spicy kick of this dish is pleasantly balanced by the muted sweetness of the brown sugar.

I served this delightful lentil curry over a bed of hot buttered basmati rice alongside some savory olive muffins with sun-dried tomatoes and ricotta cheese.

Spicy Green Lentils and Yellow Split PeasSpicy Green Lentils and Yellow Split Peas
Recipe by
Adapted from 660 Curries
Cuisine: Indian
Published on February 8, 2009

Quick and easy curry of tender earthy green lentils and split peas simmered in a zesty tomato sauce

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Ingredients:
  • 2/3 cup green lentils
  • 1/4 cup yellow split peas
  • 2 tablespoons ghee, butter or oil
  • 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/2 teaspoon asafetida
  • 1 to 2 fresh red or green chilies
  • 2 large tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/4 cup jaggery or brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
  • generous handful of fresh or dried curry leaves
Instructions:
  • Rinse the lentils and the yellow split peas in a strainer. Transfer to a medium saucepan and cover with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are very soft and the split peas are tender — about 40 to 50 minutes.

  • In a frying pan, heat the ghee, butter or oil over medium heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds and stir for 30 to 60 seconds or until they begin to sputter and pop. Add the cumin seeds, salt, turmeric, cayenne and asafetida, stir onced, and then immediately add the chilies, tomatoes, sugar, parsley and curry leaves. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has a sauce-like consistency — about 10 minutes.

  • When the lentils and split peas are cooked, mash a portion with the back of a spoon. Add the sauce to the pan, cover, and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

Spicy Green Lentils and Yellow Split Peas

More lentil recipes from Lisa's Kitchen:
Rice and Green Lentils in Coconut Milk
Saffron-Brandied Lentils
Lentil Soup with Prunes and Apricots

12 comments:

Vaidehi Bhave said...

wow.. .dal looks great..good to eat with steamy rice and little ghee on top of it :)

chakali

Susan said...

Mmmmmmm...and with more than a pinch of asafetida, too. : }

Thanks so much, Lisa, for this warm and tasty addition to MLLA8!

Bindiya said...

I love these, your version looks pretty good, would be great with some plain boiled rice.

Usha said...

Looks delicious, this one is definitely bookmarked to try soon!

Sujatha said...

Dal looks delicious... a very different one... I got to try this!

test it comm said...

This lentil and split pea curry sounds good! I look forward to reading more about those muffins.

Anonymous said...

Mmmm I love warm, spicy Indian lentil dishes. This one looks really good. The muffins sound pretty darn fab too!

Anonymous said...

I made it tonight and it was delicious. I quadrupled the recipe (I wanted leftovers) and it worked out fine except it was very spicy! Next time I'll tone down the spices a bit. But excellent, thanks!

zlamushka said...

Gosh, this looks great. I am now on my 21-day vegan challenge and am craving something spicy, hearthy and warming. This one looks just like the one I want.

I have been making a lot of soups lately. Is No Croutons Requirred still on? I thought of participating, as I havent been blogging for over three months :_(

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the Receipe.My husband just loved it..

SamanthaPayntr said...

mmmmm, this turned out really great! I love the sweet and (super) spicy, that always makes me happy.

It's really spicy (just how i like it) i would tell people who have a hard time with spicy to only use one chile pepper and half the cayenne (or none at all)

basil said...

I made this tonight - delicious. Thanks once again.