Lunch

Red Lentil Dal with Warm Pitta

Name: Red Lentil Dal with Warm Pitta
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 65 g Red lentils; 60 g Onion; 150 g Chopped tomatoes, tinned; 2 cloves, about 6 g Garlic; A thumb, grated Fresh ginger; Half a teaspoon Ground turmeric; A teaspoon Ground cumin; 5 g Rapeseed oil; 1 pitta, about 60 g Wholemeal pitta; A good squeeze Lemon juice; A handful Fresh coriander; To taste Salt

Red lentils cooked to a thick dal, with a fried onion and cumin tarka stirred through and a warm pitta. Pulses and bread; nothing dairy. 23 g of protein for 485 kcal.

Calories: 485kcal
Protein: 23g
Fat: 7g
Carbs: 80g

Per serving, makes 1. 15 minutes of work, then simmers for 20 minutes. Published 8 September 2026.

Allergens

Gluten

Flags follow UK labelling rules and come from the ingredients as listed, not from any particular brand. Check the packet before cooking for somebody with an allergy.

Ingredients

Red lentils65 g
Dry weight.
Onion60 g
Chopped tomatoes, tinned150 g
Garlic2 cloves, about 6 g
Fresh gingerA thumb, grated
Ground turmericHalf a teaspoon
Ground cuminA teaspoon
Rapeseed oil5 g
Wholemeal pitta1 pitta, about 60 g
Lemon juiceA good squeeze
Fresh corianderA handful
SaltTo taste

Method

Rinse the lentils until the water runs clear, then put them in a pan with 350 ml of water, the turmeric and half the onion, chopped. Bring to the boil, skim the foam, and simmer with the lid ajar for twenty minutes, stirring now and then, until they collapse.
While they cook, fry the rest of the onion in the oil until brown at the edges, about eight minutes, then add the garlic, ginger and cumin and fry for a minute more.
Stir the tomatoes into the onion pan and cook down for five minutes, then tip the lot into the lentils. Salt, and add lemon until it tastes bright rather than flat.
Warm the pitta in a dry pan or the toaster, tear it, and eat with the dal and coriander.

Worth knowing

Sixty-five grams of dry lentils looks like nothing in the bag and makes a full bowl. They take on roughly three times their weight in water.
The fried onion tipped in at the end is the tarka, and it is the part that makes the dal taste of something. Do not skip it to save five minutes.

Other lunch recipes that share ingredients with this one, or every lunch between 450 and 600 calories a serving.

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Macros are calculated from the weights listed above using standard food composition values, and will shift with your own brands and measuring. Weigh what you can. This is a recipe, not dietary advice. The full health disclaimer is below.