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–+ servings
Yellow Dal Recipe Get Cozy with this Easy Yellow Split Pea Curry

Yellow Dal Recipe

This Yellow Split Pea Curry recipe is easy! Coconut milk, tomato paste and curry powder headline this easy yellow dal recipe.
4 from 6 votes
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Total Time 45 minutes
Course dinner, Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbsp liquid coconut oil
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups yellow split peas precooked, see Recipe Notes
  • 1 tbsp garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp yellow curry powder see Recipe Notes
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1 14 oz can full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 3 cups baby spinach roughly chopped

Instructions
 

  • Pre-cook the yellow split peas. See Recipe Notes.
  • Heat the coconut oil in a deep-sided saucepan until shimmering. Add the diced onions and salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the onions to cook slowly until browned. About 12-15 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
  • Add the curry powder and cook until fragrant. About 1 minute.
  • Add the tomato paste and increase the heat to medium-high. Sauté the tomato paste with the onions and curry powder until it is dark red. About 2 minutes.
  • Add the prepped yellow split peas, coconut milk and garam masala. Stir to combine and cook until heated through.
  • Add the baby spinach and cook until wilted. About 2 minutes.
  • Season with salt & pepper and serve with naan.

Notes

  • Confused about curry? Aren’t we all? For this recipe, I used a yellow curry powder. To learn more about curry, be sure to check out my What Is Curry? post.
  • I get into the food science in my blog post, but I recommend pre-cooking the yellow split peas before adding them to the curry paste. Yellow split peas, like many legumes, don’t interact well with the acidity of tomatoes. Adding acid to legumes too early in a recipe tightens and toughens the skins, causing them to be firm. To avoid this outcome, I pre-cook the yellow split peas in my Instant Pot. I use a 1:2 ratio (yellow split peas: water) and cook them on high for 5 minutes with a natural steam release. If you do not have an Instant Pot, you can pre-cook the yellow split peas on the stove for 30-35 minutes.
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