Go
Ingredient Search
Meal Ideas
Recipe Box
Shopping List
My Recent Searches
 
(21)

Pakistani Lentil Curry

This cheap and very easy Pakistani meal is usually eaten with Basmati rice, tossed salad, and hot pickles. It is relatively quick to make, and tastes even better the second day.
Reviews (21)
Comments (0)
1 2
Sort by
Rating | Posted
07/29/2010
Reviewed By: Jessica Paige
I did not have a problem with it being too runny as others had mentioned. I truly think that the problem lies with soaking the lentils overnight (and if you are using the right type). Lentils have such a short cooking time comparatively speaking to other legumes, they don't need a soak. As an aside: I thought this was great and paired well with the Curried Chicken Salad, I had made for lunches this week. Next time, I might add carrots and double the spices except for the cayenne. But I think the spice problem is that mine are too old..oh darn, time to shop for new spices. Thank you JERRYJAVED for sharing this recipe.
07/27/2010
Reviewed By: Steph
I followed this using freshly ground spices, served over rice. I didn't bother soaking my lentils, I threw them in and boiled for about 40 minutes. I forgot the milk but it was perfect anyway. I eat lentils several times a week, I'm always looking for new and interesting dishes. This one quickly became my favorite. De-licious. Do taste as you cook so you can adjust spices for your preference.
06/01/2010
Reviewed By: bigted
I tinkered with this a little. I too found it to runny for my taste. I reduced the liquid, replaced some with diced tomatoes. I also added fresh ginger and mushrooms to the mix. On a whim I also threw in some chili powder. All in all it is a very economical recipie that makes up easily and also freezes very well. If you accidentally add too much cayenne you can serve it with yogurt or sour cream.
04/29/2010
Reviewed By: Mary
Easily made however it's not as I imagined it would be. Very soupy, runny. -not as pictured. :( I've had read that Pakistani Lentil Curry is runnier than others but I was still surprised how it turned out. I even used only 3 cups of water (for 2 servings).**It seemed to have a watery taste, and was very runny....maybe if you just cook the lentils instead of soaking first as in step 1 it might be better. The package of lentils I had said that they did not need to be soaked, however I did as the recipe called for and soaked for about 3 hours. Maybe if I hadn't then they would have soaked up more as they cooked, thus making a thicker/or less runny finished product.... I also added 1 more tsp of salt for flavor after it was all finished. I MAY make this again, doing the changes that I have thought of, however the rating is really for the recipe just as it is. I really didn't change much.
04/12/2010
Reviewed By: mandygirl238
this was pretty yummy. I added some diced chicken to it and carrots. We all enjoyed it very much.
06/26/2009
Reviewed By: tibbadee
This was good. It wasn't amazing, but it was good.
05/11/2009
Reviewed By: tinkhbe
I took the advice of others to decrease the amount of water and added carrots and potatoes. Lastly I garnished with cilantro and added the crumbled feta cheese recommended. The dish turned out wonderfully! My husband who was a bit leary of it at first, thought it was delicious and even my 2 year old goobled it up! This recipe will definately be one that I make again!
04/07/2009
Reviewed By: nhahno
I had to interrupt my work day and my lunch to rate this one - I am eating the leftovers for lunch today and this is by far the best lentil recipe I have ever made. I took the advice of some of the others - doubled the spices and added shredded carrots and bite-size potato chunks - and used the full amount of water, which was almost completely absorbed in the cooking. I skipped the final step of adding milk, but only because I forgot. DELICIOUS. Served it with flatbread and some crumbled feta the first night. Having it with wild rice today. Love it. Thank you!
02/09/2009
Reviewed By: Khawer Khan
Turned out great. I added about 9 curry leaves though. Used a little extra Turmeric. Also some people have been saying that they reduced the water, you're not supposed to. Authentic Pakistani Dal (Lentil "curry") is a bit soupy. Since its eaten with Basmati rice or bread, the soupyness gives it the desired consistency. Otherwise its too dry.
01/16/2009
Reviewed By: Julia
With the amount of salt that the recipe calls for, I found the curry to be too bland, so I doubled the salt. I also doubled the amount of spices, cut the amount of water to 2 cups, and threw in some sliced chicken breasts while i was sauteeing the onion. Delicious!
12/15/2008
Reviewed By: Kristy
4 Stars because I doctored it up - added a chopped carrot and two diced potatoes to the lentils, did half split peas, half lentils and used 2 c. total with 4 c. water. Very yummy!
12/08/2008
Reviewed By: NYSMILEZ
great cheap meal!
10/12/2008
Reviewed By: KNBAUER
I took the advice of some of the other reviewers and reduced the amount of water- 4 cups would indeed have been too much. However, I found that 2 cups was not quite enough- by the time the water was all absorbed, the lentils were still a bit tough, so I would recommend 2.5-3 cups. I imagine that 3 cups would give you a bit more of a soupy consistency (great over bowls of rice). I also took the advice to increase the amount of the spices, and I doubled everything except the cayenne (my husband is a bit sensitive to spicy dishes). However, I would have enjoyed even more flavor, so I would consider adding a bit more of the other spices, too. We added a squeeze of lemon just before eating, which was tasty. I have also heard that adding salt to uncooked lentils can make them tough, so I waited until closer to the end of their cook time to add salt.
09/29/2008
Reviewed By: ND303
I also reduced the liquid to 2 cups, then added some leftover pork roast. It turned out very good!
03/01/2008
Reviewed By: J
Great lentil recipe. My boyfriend and I enjoy lentils that pack a punch of flavor, and I like easy clean-up - so I made a few adjustments to the original recipe. I added one carrot and two small potatoes, peeled and cut into small bite sized pieces into the pot of water. I added the onion, chopped to the water, along with the garlic, and 1 cup of lentils and about three cups of water. I doubled all of the spices, except the cayenne pepper, which I increased by 1/4 a teaspoon. And instead of salt I added garlic salt and onion salt. I also added the milk, following the directions. Best lentils I have made!
02/20/2008
Reviewed By: LEXY1
Good overall. I added celery and carrots - diced and sauted with the onion. I also added extra cumin, tumeric and coriander. My husband and our guest enjoyed this tremendously - although we were pretty garlicky the next day!
01/08/2008
Reviewed By: Lisa Marie
jennylyn1 had a good upgradde along with her upgrade i would saute tomatoes with the onions after the onions are golden brown. Then after the lentils soup is almost done i would add spinach
12/30/2007
Reviewed By: ERADEE
I used this recipe as a guide. Per the last reviewer I added the sauted onions, bell peppers and squash without the canaynne pepper. I added 1 can of diced tomatoes with chiles that made it spicey. Good change from the regular lentil recipes.
10/21/2007
Reviewed By: JENNYLYN1
In constant search of cheap meal ideas, I decided to give this a try. As written, I would have to rate this a 2 because lentils don't need to be soaked before cooking and the recipe calls for too much water-the general ratio is 2 parts water to one part lentils. If I had followed the directions of the recipe, this would have been REALLY watery/liquidy and I think pretty gross. Here is what I did . . . I rinsed 2 cups of brown lentils and simmered them with 4 cups of water, adding more water as needed until they were cooked to the right texture (was doubling the recipe). I added 5 cloves of chopped garlic and doubled the rest of the spices, except the cayenne (too spicy for my 3 yr old). As it simmered, it smelled good but looked boring so I sauteed some shredded carrots, yellow bell pepper, and zucchini in a separate pan while I caramelized the onion (a whole one). When the lentils were done, I added the sauteed veggies and the caramelized onions to the pot and stirred it up. I served it over Basmati Rice, topped it with cilantro and it still needed something. Paneer would have been great but I didn't have it so used some white crumbly Mexican cheese on the top (feta would have been great too). The end result was amazingly delicious! I will definitely make it again-in the future, I will add more veggies, caramelize 2 onions, cut down the lentils and use veggie broth to simmer the lentils in, plus add paneer to the top. Thanks for the idea and great spice combinati
08/15/2007
Reviewed By: LucyInTheSkyWithDiamonds
This is so tasty and full of flavor, I loved it. Did not give it 5 stars due to having to adjust the recipe. I decreased the water to 2 cups(I cant imagine how soupy it would have been with 4 cups), also I doubled the coriander, turmeric, and cumin. I will make this again.... probably many times. I think I will try it with some Feta occasionally too. Thanks for submitting this recipe.
1 2