This delicious Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal ticks so many boxes – it’s quick and easy to make, family friendly, budget friendly, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and packed full of goodness! Serve with brown rice for a deliciously virtuous midweek meal!
Healthy, easy AND delicious!
Are you wanting to eat a little more healthily this year – but without compromising on taste or simplicity? Then this Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal is definitely a recipe to work into your repertoire.
This tasty aubergine and lentil curry is packed full of flavour and takes just 40 minutes to make, but is full of goodness too – only 325 calories (436 kcal including a 100g serving of cooked brown rice), full of fibre, protein, iron and other vitamins and minerals – plus it counts as 3 of your 5 a day!
A family friendly curry
Not only is this Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal healthy and easy to make – it’s also family friendly too. I’ve kept the spicing mild and kept ‘funny green bits’ to a minimum!
Roasting the aubergines makes them much more tasty, but also makes them super soft – so they almost disintegrate into this curry – so if your kids (or OH!!) is not to keen on aubergines normally, they may not even notice them in this curry!
This easy lentil curry got a definite thumbs up from my lot when they tried it the first time – with requests for it to be repeated again very soon!
What is dhal?
Dhal (sometimes known as dal, daal or dahl) is essentially a curry made from split lentils or other pulses. The world ‘dhal’ comes from the Sanskrit “to split”.
Looking at numerous versions online, there are nearly as many versions of dhal are there are cooks – the only thing they all have in common is split pulses and spice (though most also include onions and garlic).
My Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal is a simplified version of red lentil dhal that can be made using mainly storecupoard ingredients – perfect for a quick and easy midweek meal.
Why is red lentil dhal so awesome?
Dhal is such a good recipe to have in your cooking arsenal as it does the recipe hat-trick: quick, healthy, budget friendly – so perfect for midweek meals and anyone who’s watching their weight and/or their pennies!!
The basic red lentil dhal in this recipe can also be made entirely out of cheap, basic storecupboard ingredients (plus onions, garlic and ginger – which I always have in my fridge). Adding roasted aubergines and a scattering of fresh coriander elevates this humble basic recipe and makes it into a something you could serve at the weekend – or even a dinner party!
Red lentil dhal also makes brilliant leftovers – simply store in the fridge and reheat the next day in a saucepan or microwave. Alternatively, water it down slightly and serve the leftover dhal as spicy lentil soup with a big chunk of wholemeal bread!
Can dhal be frozen?
Absolutely! This Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal was MADE for batch cooking and freezing. You could make a big vat of this at the weekend – split it into portions and pop them into the freezer and feel very smug, knowing that you have a freezer full of healthy ready meals for when you need them.
To freeze, simply cool and divide into plastic boxes. Pop the lids on (and don’t forget to label them!), then stick them in the freezer until you need them.
You can even defrost from frozen! To defrost this red lentil dhal from frozen, simply pop the frozen dhal into a saucepan with a small amount of water. Stick the lid on and cook over a low heat until defrosted and piping hot all the way through.
Alternatively, if you remember, get the dhal out of the fridge the night before you need it and pop it in the fridge. Heat the defrosted dhal in a saucepan or microwave until piping hot all the way through.
What to serve with red lentil dhal
My favourite way to serve this Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal is with brown rice, but there are lots of other options!
You could serve this dhal with white rice, pilau rice, chapattis, naan breads or, if you want to feel super virtuous, why not serve this dhal with my Easy Pilau Cauliflower Rice?
If you like Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal…
… you might also like:
Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Soup (Vegan)
Harissa Spiced Cauliflower Steaks with Herby Green Lentils (Vegan)
Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal (Vegan)
Ingredients
For the roasted aubergines…
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium aubergine diced
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the red lentil dhal…
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (or to taste, or 1 fresh red chilli, diced)
- 3 garlic cloves grated or crushed
- 3 cm fresh ginger grated
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 200 g dried red lentils
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 800 ml water (i.e. 2 empty tomato tins of water)
- Black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander optional
To serve…
- Brown rice (or white rice, chapattis, naan breads or pilau rice)
- Extra fresh coriander (cilantro) optional
- All your favourite pickles and chutneys optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Place the diced aubergine in a single layer on a large non-stick baking sheet. Drizzle over the olive oil and scatter over the salt and cumin. Use your hands to mix everything together and rearrange as a single layer. Place in your preheated oven for 20 minutes – turning once to prevent sticking.
- Meanwhile, put the onions and olive oil in a deep, wide pan and cook the onions over a low heat with the lid on for 5 minutes, or until softened but not brown. Stir occasionally.
- Add the chilli, garlic, ginger, turmeric and garam masala and cook over a gentle head for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the pan gets too dry add a splash of cold water.
- Add the lentils, chopped tomatoes, water and black pepper. Stir and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and cook for 30 minutes (with the lid on). Check on the dhal occasionally and add extra water if necessary.
- When the dhal is cooked, stir in the fresh coriander and roasted aubergine – saving a few pieces for garnish (or not if you’d rather hide the fact that there are aubergines in this curry!!).
- Serve scattered with a few pieces of aubergine and some extra fresh coriander.
Notes
Pin Easy Roasted Aubergine and Red Lentil Dhal for later
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Corina Blum says
I love dhal as it’s got all the flavours I love and it’s fairly quick to make too. I haven’t managed to get my children to eat it yet though but I really would like to one day! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Eb Gargano says
Really? Wow – my kids love dhal! But then, they were basically weaned on lentils – I used to make a mean sweet potato and lentil puree!! They are still very keen on pretty much all pulses – which bodes well for their student days in years to come – haha!! Eb x
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
Oooh I love aubergine but only The Ginger Peachick will eat them. She would Love a big old bowl of this (and so would I!) definitely going to add this to the meal planning for the month! Thanks for sharing #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Midge! I’d love to know how it goes down in your house!! Eb x
Cliona Keane says
Oooo I love dahl! I was just talking to my brother about making one for him next time we see each other for dinner (he made a very delicious nut roast last time I saw him!) so I’ll pop this on our list!
Eb Gargano says
Ooh yay – let me know how it goes! Eb x
Anna | Once Upon A Food Blog says
I love dahl and aubergine so this looks yummy. I can’t get the rest of my family to eat aubergine but they’d devour the dhal and I could eat all their aubergine and my dhal – sounds like a plan!
Eb Gargano says
Hahahaha – sounds like a BRILLIANT plan!! Eb x
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
This is definitely going on the list of dishes I must make Love aubergine love dahl and why the boys are not at home that often now I can eat more vegetarian dishes:)
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jacqui – would love to hear how it goes if you try it! Eb x
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
So I did make it and we loved it. Did one evening meal and several lunches! If i made it again I would double the aubergine because it is one of my fav vegetables but all in all a fabulous recipe as it is Thank you.
Eb Gargano says
Yay! So pleased to hear that – thanks so much for letting me know. Loving the idea of double aubergine!! 😀 Eb x
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
This looks delicious and so comforting for a winter evening!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Kat – it definitely is! Eb x
Ella says
Love the sound of this recipe- will definitely be trying it out!
Are you using dried lentils or pre-soaked from a can?
Thanks!
Eb Gargano says
That’s good to hear! This recipe uses dried lentils. Thank you for pointing out the ambiguity – I will update the recipe card to make it clearer. I’d love to hear what you think if you do make it! Eb 🙂
Steph says
I noticed there was salt in the dhal only the roasted aubergine. Was this omission on purpose? Going to try making it tonight:)
Steph says
I meant to say NO salt in the dhal
Eb Gargano says
Yes – given there is quite q bit of salt on the roasted aubergine, I have omitted it from the rest of the recipe. Once the roasted aubergine has been stirred into the dhal, it will have the effect of seasoning the rest of the dhal. Though obviously, if you would like to add a little extra salt to the dhal, that’s totally up to you! Eb 🙂
Scarlet says
Made this this evening for dinner and it was lovely! I added some smoked paprika but asides from that followed the recipe exactly.
Eb Gargano says
Yay! I am so happy to hear that. Thanks for this lovely feedback, Scarlet, and especially the 5 stars 😀 Love the idea of adding smoked paprika too. Eb 🙂
Sibylle says
Hi! Are the calories of the rice included? Or should I count them separately? Thanks✨
Eb Gargano says
No – rice calories are not included, so you would need to count them separately. Eb 🙂