The beginning of autumn means comfort food! Food that serves both to make me less depressed about the end of the summer, and to warm me up when it's miserable outside (this morning it genuinely looked like a scene from a horror movie outside with all the mist). And what's more comforting than a big bowlful of warm curry? (especially if you eat it on your lap on the sofa...)
This curried broccoli dal contains an entire head of broccoli, but it's all blitzed up into the lentils, so you get all the nutrients without feeling like you're eating a bowl that's just full of veg. Comfort, but with the satisfaction of knowing that you're being pretty healthy too - the best combination!
The broccoli looks so pretty when it's all blitzed up...
...and even prettier when it's mixed in with the lentils...
...and although it looks somewhat less attractive when it's cooked (sorry about that), it does taste pretty amazing, so hopefully you'll let me off that one. You only need a bit of curry powder and some garam masala to give it that amazing curried flavour. You could add some cumin or turmeric too if you like, but I wanted to keep mine fairly mild.
I served my broccoli dal with some brown rice, but I think a chunk of naan bread would be even better - perfect for mopping up the bowl afterwards. You can use this dal recipe either as a side dish or as a vegan main course - it's delicious and versatile. Have I managed to convince you to look past its appearance yet...? How about if I tell you that it's super cheap too?
📖 Printable Recipe
Curried broccoli dal
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 200 g broccoli one medium head
- 150 g dried red lentils
- 650 ml vegetable stock
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- Black pepper
- Salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a saucepan, and add the onion and garlic. Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are fairly soft.
- Meanwhile, add the broccoli to a food processor, and blitz until no large chunks remain.
- When the onion is soft, add the processed broccoli and lentils to the pan, along with the stock and spices. Mix well, and bring to a simmer. Cook gently, stirring regularly, until the lentils are cooked and the mixture is at your desired consistency - around 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with rice or naan bread.
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Love lentils? Make my vegetable moussaka casserole!
Kajsa says
Best ever comfort food!!
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Thank you!
Shirley says
I have just made this and it has turned out well and tastes good. I used 500ml veg stock and a couple of extra garlic cloves, plus quarter teaspoon of my favourite curry paste. Didn't much care for the smell at first, but once cooked it is delicious. I made the full amount so plenty left for another day.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks Shirley, glad you enjoyed it in the end! :)
emma rose says
I don't have much experience cooking with lentils - would you used dried lentils for this, or already cooked, or canned? Thank you!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
You can just use dried lentils - I'll edit the post to make it clear :) Dried lentils are really easy to cook with because they don't need pre-soaking, and they cook pretty quickly - much easier than dried beans! ;)
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
(plus with dried lentils, you can keep the rest of the packet in the cupboard and they'll keep forever!)
Nina says
What a fun recipe! We sauteed the blitzed broccoli with the onion, garlic and spices in the pan with a little coconut oil and cooked the lentils in the broth. Then mixed together. Very tasty...thanks!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Sounds great! Thanks for your comment Nina :)
TheEightHours says
I have spent the last hour or so going through your recipes and planning to cook so many.
Look great
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks so much, glad you like my recipes :)
Rosie Kelly says
One of the woes of food blogging - sometimes your curry/soup/stew just turns out in shades of brown, which isn't ideal to photograph!
It sounds delicious though!