This Coconut Dhal is so simple to make, very family friendly, and tastes absolutely amazing. It is less than £2.00 per person and is made in only one pot!
Recipe Difficulty – Very Easy
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Why this recipe works
I absolutely love using butternut squash and coconut together, so I had the thought to try making a comforting vegan dhal. The end result was just incredible. It’s packed full of flavour and so perfectly comforting for a fall or winter dinner!
This Coconut Lentil Dhal, hailing from Sri Lanka, will soon become one of your favourite recipes and will quickly find a spot in your weekly meal rotation.
One of the many great things about this red lentil dhal is that it’s super cheap to make, costing only £1.50-£2.00 per portion! Plus, it’s all made in one pot, making cleanup a breeze!
This lentil daal works great for batch cooking as well! Whether freezing or not, I recommend you always make extras as it tastes even better for lunch the next day.
This was inspired by my Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry, and pairs well with this amazing Socca recipe.
Ingredients to make Coconut Dhal
- Butternut Squash – forms a delicious base for this vegetable dhal.
- Oil – I use olive oil.
- Garlic Cloves – one of my go-to flavours – should be crushed.
- Red Onion – have a wonderfully sweet and mild onion flavour.
- Turmeric – is a very common curry flavour.
- Cayenne Pepper – adds a great heat to this dish.
- Paprika – is a sweet and mild addition.
- Chilli Flakes – give a little more heat.
- Ground Coriander – is a citrusy flavour common in curries.
- Fresh Red Chilli – should be deseeded and finely chopped.
- Fresh Lime Juice – adds a great splash of flavour.
- Red Split Lentil – is the primary ingredient in most daal.
- Coconut Milk – keeps this recipe vegan while still giving a great consistency.
- Vegetable Stock – helps to enhance the other flavours in this dish.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Butternut Squash – Sweet potato or pumpkin are both great replacements for butternut squash.
- Seasonings and Spices – Free free to adjust the spices and seasonings to your taste preferences.
- Garlic Cloves – While fresh is best, minced garlic or even garlic powder can still bring a good flavour.
- Red Split Lentil – Other colours of lentils, split peas, or beans are good substitutes in this dhal curry recipe.
Variations
- Spicy – Increase the spicy ingredients in this recipe to bring up the heat without changing the flavour profile much.
- Deluxe – Finish off with a squeeze of lime juice, fresh coriander, fresh chilli and some coconut flakes for a yummy and impressive dhal coconut curry.
- Kid friendly – If you need to bring the spice down for kids, take out or reduce the chili, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.
See this Butternut Squash Tagine version of this recipe on my website! If you are a vegetable curry fan, you can try this Vegetable Thai Green Curry.
How to make Coconut Dhal
Step 1: Peel, deseed, and chop the butternut squash into small cubes. Dice the red onion and fresh chilli.
Step 2: Heat a large pot on medium heat with oil, garlic, red onion, and salt and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes.
Step 3: Add all of the spices, fresh chilli, and the lime juice and stir. Add the chopped butternut squash and fry for a couple of minutes.
Step 4: Add in the coconut milk, stock, and lentils. Make sure to mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes. Stir every 5-10 minutes.
Hint: Be aware of your own heat tolerance when spicing this dish.
Leftovers
You can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze it down to have a healthy home-cooked meal when short on time.
Recipe FAQs
Dhal is essentially a lentil soup with curry flavours. I use red lentils, butternut squash, creamy coconut milk, and a load of delicious seasonings and spices that make for an amazing dish! Dhal is famous in India, but using coconut milk makes it more of a Sri Lankan Dhal.
My very favourite thing to eat with this is my Gluten Free Naan Bread. You could also try serving wtih a nice spinach and tomato salad, rice, or some roasted aubergine.
It can be! Make sure the recipe you are using doesn’t use any dairy products and you should be good to go! I use a delicious coconut milk in mine.
Both are incredibly flavourful! They even have similar flavour profiles. The biggest difference is that dhal is more soupy and has lentils in it.
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Recipe
Coconut Dhal
Ingredients
- 1/2 large butternut squash (roughly 500g)
- 1 tablespoon oil (I use olive oil)
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 fresh red chilli (deseeded and finely chopped)
- 1/2 juice Fresh Lime
- 1 cup red split lentils 180g
- 1 can coconut milk
- 400 ml vegetable stock
Instructions
- Peel, deseed and chop the butternut squash into small cubes along with dicing the red onion and fresh chilli.
- Heat a large pot on a medium heat with oil and add the crushed garlic, red onion with a pinch of salt & pepper and cook for a couple minutes.
- Add all the spices, fresh chilli along with the juice of 1/2 a lime and stir. Now add the chopped butternut squash and fry for a couple minutes.
- Add in the coconut milk, stock and lentils making sure to mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes. Stir every 5-10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that Nutrition information is a rough estimate
Just made this for the first time. It’s delicious. I wasn’t sure if I could take all the heat, so I did substitute the 1/2 red chili with a 1/2 tsp of chili powder, and reduced the cayenne pepper to 1/8 tsp. It had just the right amount of spice for me!!
I’ve just finished making this butternut squash Dhal and oh my goodness the taste! Absolutely amazing. Delicious recipe. And plenty left over too! Thank you James.
Yay so pleased to hear that Emma 🙂
I make this at least once a week. Either to accompany another curry for dinner or for lunch with James’s naan breads. It’s another great recipe from his website. Thanks James!
Omgosh this was sooo incredibly delicious!!! I was a bit suspicious initially as I didn’t like the smell of turmeric but the end result was heavenly. I will definitely make it again!
This was my first ever attempt at a Dahl and I can honestly say it did not disappoint!! I am not one for spice so this was the perfect taste for me.
Thank you Ellie 🙂 pleased you enjoyed it! Thanks for the great review.
Have made this Dhal a few times now and it always turns out great! Another awesome recipe, thanks James!
I made this last night & while it was delicious (and I have loads for leftovers!) the Tumeric was too strong for me. I’d make again but with half the measure. Ems
Thank you for leaving a comment Emma, glad you enjoyed it and everyone is different on spice levels so halving should work perfectly for you next time.
I made this for dinner last night and whilst it was easy to make and turned out well, it was rather too sweet for my tastebuds. Any suggestions please James on what I could add to tone it down a little? I have heaps still to get through!
Hey Annie, thats strange! You must have had a very sweet butternut squash 🙂 You could either add more coconut milk or spice to see if that helps!
I made a similar recipe with sweet potato instead of butter nut squash for a vegan guest. It was yummy, very filling but the sweet potato did not do well after freezing. Matter of taste I suppose, I do not like sweet potato mushy.
Hi Marie,
Thank you for trying the recipe and for leaving a comment! Really pleased you enjoyed the taste 🙂
Sweet potato goes much softer in this recipe, maybe give the butternut squash a try next time!
Thanks,
James
Hi James,
Thank you so much for this recipe, it looks amazing!!! I was just wondering, could I use natural/organic coconut yoghurt instead of the coconut milk?
Thank you
Hayley
Hi Hayley,
Thank you so much for the comment and you’re very welcome!
As for the coconut yoghurt, no I don’t think that would work. I would stick to the coconut milk from a can.
Let me know how it goes.
Thanks,
James
Anytime!
Of course I’ve already made the sweet potato and chickpea curry, however that was a few months ago!! Just as delicious, which is why I made the dhal . I’ll definitely try the Apricot, Butternut Squash and Cashew Curry and let you know how that goes. I also love how easy the recipes are to follow so thank you!
Hey Kimberley,
I am so pleased you enjoyed the sweet potato & chickpea curry 🙂 I think you will LOVE the apricot and cashew one!!! Let me know your thoughts on it when you have tried it 🙂
James
Hi James,
I’ve made this for myself many times and made it for my friend last week and she loved it just as much as I do. I used sweet potato instead of butternut squash and it was delicious. I think I might make this every week 🙂
Hey Kimberley,
Thank you so much for the great feedback!!! I am so pleased that you and your friend love it and it’s definitely a great dish to make each week 🙂
I highly recommend giving my other 2 curries a try at some point: https://healthylivingjames.co.uk/sweet-potato-chickpea-curry/
https://healthylivingjames.co.uk/apricot-butternut-squash-cashew-curry/
James
Thank you Beau!
Enjoy and please let me know how you get on with the recipe 🙂
James
Hi James, this looks amazing and I will give it a try.
Hey Sheryl,
Thank you so much for the comment, please make sure to let me know how it goes 🙂
Enjoy!
James
I love how easy this looks! I love the squash/lentil combination, sounds very satisfying. Can’t wait to try it.