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Dal with Coconut

A very simple but flavorful dal, one as successful with chickpeas or beans as with lentils. Serve this with Basic Long-Grain Rice (page 506) or any pilaf (pages 513–514). If you have the time (and forethought) to soak the lentils, they’ll cook more quickly, but it is far from necessary. Other legumes you can prepare this way: red beans.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 8 or more servings

Ingredients

1

pound dried lentils or small beans, rinsed and picked over

1

cup unsweetened shredded coconut or 1 can coconut milk, or 1 1/2 cups homemade coconut milk (page 584)

1

/2 cup palm or brown sugar, or to taste

Salt and black pepper to taste

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine all the ingredients except salt and pepper in a large pot, along with water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and adjust the heat so the mixture simmers steadily but not violently. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft, about an hour.

    Step 2

    Season to taste and serve or cover and refrigerate for up to several days before reheating.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
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