Jun 09, 2021, Updated Aug 28, 2024
What are Madras Lentils?
Madras Lentils are kind of the Butter Chicken of bean curries, with lentils and kidney beans simmered with aromatics in butter and cream to make a rich, tomato-y base. My South Indian husband believes that Madras Lentils is probably actually a Western misnomer. Madras is the capital of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where chillies, curry leaves, mustard seeds and coconut oil are more likely to be present than butter and cream. Although commonly known in North America as Madras Lentils, this dish really reminds me of a delicious Punjabi lentil dal we get in our North Indian restaurants in Vancouver. Please share in the comments if you know more about it! Whatever you call it, this simple, stick-to-the-ribs lentil curry is now on regular rotation in our home. The kids love it for the soft texture and gentle flavours.
What’s In Madras Lentils?
To make this healthy, stick-to-the-ribs vegetarian recipe as weeknight-friendly as possible, I used canned lentils and kidney beans. Here are some notes:
Feel free to cook your own from scratch but note lentils are much quicker-cooking than kidney beans so they should be prepared separately.
I opted for brown lentils because they are available in a can and remain distinct after simmering. You could swap in another type, they may just break down into the sauce a bit more (not a bad thing!).
Using tomato paste instead of tomato sauce builds more concentrated flavors.
Garnish with cilantro, yogurt or a splash of cream.
How to Make Madras Lentils
Cook the onions sufficiently – this first step in the instructions is key. They should be completely soft, translucent and golden on their way to caramelized. The 10-minute time frame is based on very-thinly-sliced, room-temperature onions. Thicker slices or cold onions can easily double the time. You want them to be totally cooked down, which brings a gorgeous sweetness to the sauce and also allows them to completely disappear into the final sauce. The onions in many curries actually are the sauce. For perfect onion softening without burning, choose an enameled cast iron dutch oven (here is an affordable one) or other very heavy, thick-bottomed cooking vessel or else you’ll end up with burnt onions at the edges and raw ones in the middle.
Don’t be shy with the garlic. It looks like a lot. Heck, it IS a lot. But without a boatlaod of spices, the onions, garlic, ginger and cumin really shoulder the flavour load, yielding a mild – but still uber-flavourful – finished dish. GARLIC PREP TIP: buy pre-peeled garlic at the grocery store, take it home and throw it in your food processor to finely mince. Pop it in a zippered freezer bag and press it to arrange flat. You can easily measure it from the bag when you need it for a recipe.
Toast the tomato paste. This step is really important to flavour building. Indian dishes are so incredibly complex because of all of this layering in the cooking process. Giving the tomato paste those few minutes to caramelize produces an incredible roasty tomato flavour (vs. the sharp acidity and slight metallic taste of tomato paste straight from the can).
Simmer or don’t. I made this recipe with weeknight ease in mind, so skipped the long simmer. IF you have time, include an extra half-cup of water and simmer on low with a lid mostly covering the pot for up to an hour, stirring occasionally. The flavours only improve with time.
What Goes With Madras Lentils?
My favourite pairing with Madras Lentils is soft, homemade naan (or warmed-up storebought), flaky paratha, or homemade chapati.
They’re vegetarian and certainly on the healthy side.
With a good dose of cream and butter, it isn’t a distinctively light-on-calories, or nutrition-primary dish, but you could round out the meal with a sauté of greens or sliced raw vegetables and definitely feel good about it.
Rice is a quick and easy option (here’s my no-fail basmati rice recipe), or brown rice for a more filling, healthier option.
We love to enjoy our lentil and bean curries with fresh homemade Indian flatbread, and skip the utensils altogether.
Tear off a piece of the flatbread and use it to scoop up some curry.
Serve with a steaming cup of my Chai tea recipe.
Favourite Vegetarian Indian Recipes
Creamy Madras Lentils (the ultimate vegetarian comfort food) Amma’s special Masoor Dal Coconut Curried Lentils Indian Chickpea Salad Malai Kofta Saag Paneer + Palak Paneer Indian Chickpea Curry Recipe
And don’t miss all my other Indian Vegetarian Dinner Recipes. I tried it and it’s delicious!
