Simple but delicious Low Syn Red Lentil Dhal – pure comfort in a bowl and a perfect recipe for freezing leftovers.

One staple in my pantry is jars of lentils, I tend to have a few different varieties, mainly because they are super cheap and a great ingredient to have. They can replace ground meat in a variety of dishes and are perfect in one of my favourite type of meal – curries!!

It is probably not a huge surprise that I LOVE curry, you will find quite a few different recipes right here on the blog, when I say. a few, what I really mean is LOTS. A new curry recipe probably goes up on the blog at least once a month. I just can’t help creating new ones.

The great thing about curries is you can literally add anything to the pan with a few spices for a delicious meal.

I am a definite meat eater, but occasionally I like and enjoy meat free meals and so lentils or beans are always the best ingredient to choose for a meat free curry, as along with some vegetables they will bulk out the dish to make it filling and satisfying.

Another thing I really love at the moment is my Instant Pot. Wondering what an Instant Pot is?

It is basically a 7in1 cooker, and it slow cooks, pressure cooks, sautés, has a setting for soup, chilli, rice, porridge and even makes yoghurt (I haven’t tried that yet).

This is one of the best things I have bought and I use it almost daily in one way or another. Hey I even cook my boiled eggs in this – you should see how effortlessly they peel.

Check out my other: Instant Pot Recipes

Click here to read more about the instant pot on Amazon

Don’t worry though if you don’t own a instant pot, this Red Lentil Dhal can just as easily be made stove top.

So today when I wanted a quick meal ready for lunch, it was the instant pot to the rescue – I just combined some lentils, leftover butternut squash, zucchini, the usual ginger and garlic, curry powder (keeping it nice and simple), stock and some coconut milk and in 10 minutes I had a delicious lentil dhal to enjoy with some steamed white rice.

I chopped the vegetables fine using the food processor bowl of my Nutri Ninja Complete Kitchen System with auto IQ technology. I love this blender and food processor. The auto IQ technology, means it blends or chops to a set pattern depending on what it is you are making. So cool!!!

Really though you don’t even need the rice – this dhal is sooo good, you may just want to scoop it from the bowl with a spoon. That may well be me admitting I did exactly that.

If you a healthy extra b choice spare, some warmed pitta bread goes really well with this too, using the bread to scoop up mouthfuls of the dhal, the only problem there is, you may not have enough bread to scoop up all this amazing Red Lentil Dhal you will want to eat.

For an SP day, try serving with this yummy Roasted Cauliflower Rice – cauliflower rice done this way, is so much more flavourful than microwaving and it is perfect along side curries like this.

If you want to keep this syn free, you can skip the light coconut milk that I stir through at the end and instead spoon on some fat free plain yoghurt. But for me I LOVE the flavour and creaminess the coconut milk gives to this Red Lentil Dhal and the syns really are not too high when you divide into portions.

Looking for some other Lentil Dishes to try?

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Low Syn Easy Red Lentil Dhal

Prep 10 mins

Cook 40 mins

Total 50 mins

Author Shevy (Slimming Eats)

Yield 4 servings

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly

Extra Easy - 2 syns per serving

Green/Vegetarian - 2 syns per serving

SP - 2 syns per serving (serve with cauliflower rice)

WW Smart Points - 3

Ingredients

• 1 cup of red lentils
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 250g butternut squash, finely chopped
• 1 zucchini, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbs of medium curry powder
• 2 cups (480ml) of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup (240ml) of light coconut milk - 7.5 syns
• salt and black pepper
• spray oil
• fresh chopped coriander

Instructions

1. Spray a deep pot over a medium high heat with spray oil.
2. Add the onion and fry to soften.
3. Add the garlic, ginger, zucchini and butternut squash and fry for a further 5 minutes. (add a little stock if it starts to stick)
4. Add the curry powder and stir to coat.
5. Add in the the red lentils and stock
6. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 25-30 mins, until the lentils are softened and stock is pretty much all absorbed.
7. Stir in the coconut milk and continue to simmer for about 5 mins - the dhal will become creamy and thickened.
8. Season as needed, sprinkle with fresh coriander
9. Serve and enjoy

Notes

Instant Pot - set to saute mode and follow first few steps 1-4, once you add lentils and stock, add lid, close valve and set for 10 mins manual  (high pressure), do a quick release, set to saute mode again, and stir in coconut milk until thick and creamy.

Double ingredients to make a bigger batch if you want to freeze some portions.

Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only.

Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. Also double check syn values of sinned ingredients as different brands can vary. 

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Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 serving

Amount Per Serving
Calories 169
% Daily Value
Total Fat 4.2 g		6%
	Saturated Fat 3.1 g	16%
Sodium 70.2 mg		3%
Total Carbohydrates 32 g		11%
	Dietary Fiber 11.9 g	48%
	Sugars 0.8 g
Protein 9.5 g		19%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.