Easy Lentil Soup (Dal)

This easy lentil soup recipe is one of my family’s current favorite meals. The ingredients are easy to keep on hand, so it makes a perfect meal to put together last minute. It takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.

Dal is an Indian word for lentils. It also is the name of the dish prepared with the lentils. Dal can be prepared using whatever variety of lentils you have on hand. We are using a non-descript bag of brown lentils that I picked up from the grocery store. (It is literally just labeled lentils.) Brown lentils are the most common variety. You can find them pretty much anywhere.

The best part of cooking with dry lentils is that you don’t have to soak them like dried beans. They also cook fairly quickly.

How to Make Dal – An Easy Lentil Soup Recipe

This one pot recipe is really fast to put together. Throw all of your ingredients in a large pot and 20-30 minutes later you have a meal.

Ingredients for Lentil Soup

1 cup dry lentils
1 cup diced tomatoes (can use canned or fresh)
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated or minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
2 dry red hot peppers, whole (optional)
6 cups water
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)

Step by Step Directions for Making Lentil Soup

Look through your dried lentils and get rid of any rocks or foreign pieces. Rinse your lentils and add to a large pot. (I like to use my dutch oven.)

Add diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and red peppers to the pot. (You can leave out the whole red peppers depending on your spice comfort level. We actually usually add 3 or 4 peppers to our dal.)

Add 6 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil on high heat.

Reduce heat to simmer. Cook for about 20-30 minutes until lentils are tender.

Add fresh cilantro to the top before serving. (I sometimes forget to add the cilantro or even buy cilantro for this meal. It’s tasty without it, but the cilantro adds another layer of flavor that can’t be beat.)