I love lentil dahl but haven’t made it in ages! It’s so inexpensive to make too and very easy. I found a lot of recipes online but decided just to invent my own. Basically the same as many others but I played with some ingredients and really liked the results. If you get the tomatoes on sale like I did, this will serve about 6 people and costs under $2. You can serve it on its own (my sweetie likes it alone with toast on the side) or on a bed of rice. I prefer eating it with rice. If you have fresh cilantro on hand, it’s really good to sprinkle it on top before serving.

Super Easy Frugal Lentil Dahl

1 medium onion (diced)

2 garlic cloves (minced)

2 Tbsps finely chopped fresh ginger

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin seeds (if you only have ground, use half)

1/4 tsp coriander

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 28oz can of tomatoes (diced or whole) + half can of water

1 cup red lentils

In a medium saucepan, fry up the onion, garlic and ginger in a little oil (I use coconut as its healthier). When the onions become transcluscent, add the spices and fry on medium for a minute. Then stir in tomatoes & water as well as lentils. Cover and bring to boil, then uncover and simmer on low for 30-40mins. If you find it too “soupy”, simmer it longer in order for the liquid to absorb.

I made the mistake of adding too much water so that’s what happened to me. The next day it wasn’t as runny and it still tasted fantastic! We had it for dinner (2 of us) and I had enough leftover to make 4 lunches.  If you have teenage boys in the house, this might only serve 4 people instead of 6 though!

Happy Cooking!