This nourishing bowl of dal soup is gingery, garlicky and loaded with health from antioxidant-rich black lentils and seasonal butternut squash. A base of onions, carrots and celery builds delicious flavor and Indian spices like garam masala and ground cumin warm up the belly when it's cold outside.
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Dal soup inspired by two cuisines
Bitterly cold winter nights, such as the ones we've been dealing with here in the DC area, make me want to cook up a big pot of soup. The warmer, cozier and more nourishing it is the better. This dal soup with black beluga lentils just hits the spot, and then some more.
To make this soup extra delicious, I fuse together some of the best elements of two classic cuisines that I adore: Mediterranean and Indian. The recipe starts out with a sofrito of onions, celery and carrots (when the colors in your pot resemble the Italian and Indian flags, you know you have the start of something delicious!) and ends with a dash of garam masala. Beluga lentils - black lentils with a nutty flavor that are eaten around the Mediterranean region - add nuttiness. Seasonal butternut squash adds bright spots of color and oodles of nutrition.
This dal soup is perfect to eat by itself, and even better topped with a dollop of vegan yogurt. You can also serve it topped with a nest of chopped spinach to another layer of fresh flavor and healthfulness. Or you can eat it ladled over quinoa or brown rice, like you'd eat a dal.
I love beluga lentils for this recipe because their darkly pigmented skins have just that extra boost of healthfulness. They are also so easy to make in a rush. I've just shared with you a recipe for how to cook black lentils and you can try it for yourself. They go from scratch to done in about 20 minutes. Once the lentils are ready, this soup comes together in under 30 minutes. It's one-pot, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free and loaded with 16 grams of heart healthy protein and 15 grams of fiber in every serving. Whatever your goal in the new year - getting healthy, losing weight, or just staying at your best - you simply can't eat food that's any better for you than this dal soup is.
Recipe card
Dal Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 2 medium carrots (finely diced)
- 3 stalks celery (finely diced)
- 4-5 cloves garlic (minced or put through a garlic press)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (grated, measure after grating)
- 1 jalapeno pepper (minced)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne (or paprika)
- 3 cups butternut squash (cut into â…“-inch cubes)
- 1 cup pureed tomatoes (from approximately two large tomatoes)
- 3 cups cooked black beluga lentils (from 1 cup dried lentils)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or pot. Add the onions, celery, carrots and some salt and pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until the onions start to soften.
- Add the garlic, ginger and jalapeno and sauté another minute.
- Stir in the spices - turmeric, ground cumin and cayenne or paprika. Mix well.
- Add the pureed tomatoes and butternut squash cubes to the pot. Mix. Cover the pot and cook 5-10 minutes until the butternut squash is almost tender.
- Add the lentils to the pot along with any cooking liquid. Add another cup of water. Mix and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and let it simmer over low heat until the butternut squash is very tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add garam masala and salt to taste. Turn off heat and serve the soup hot.
Nutrition Information
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Dal soup FAQs
Any Indian dal can be eaten as a soup, so a dal soup isn't any different from a dal. This garlic rasam, for instance, is often eaten as a soup, and it is the inspiration for the internationally popular mulligatawny soup. But my dal soup is not just a watery Indian dal - I fused two cuisines, Indian and Mediterranean, to come up with the most delicious soup possible, and it is loaded with lots of vegetables for nutrition.
Yes. I used black lentils for a boost of added health in the new year. Black beluga lentils are loaded with anthocyanins, antioxidant pigments that fight free radicals. But all lentils are healthful and both green and brown lentils are perfectly good substitutes and will make great-tasting dal soup.
You can, but if you want a blended, creamy soup swap out the beluga lentils with split red lentils. They will break down and blend easily and taste just as good.
Absolutely. Just add more water or vegetable stock to the dal soup until you get the consistency you like. Unlike other lentils the beluga lentils won't thicken the soup much upon standing.
You can refrigerate the dal soup for up to four days, or freeze it for up to three months. Reheat the soup on the stove top in a saucepan or in a microwave until warmed through.
Hasan Jaffer says
This dal soup sounds incredibly comforting and nourishing, especially for cold days. I love how you’ve blended Mediterranean and Indian flavors so naturally, and the addition of beluga lentils with butternut squash is such a beautiful, wholesome combo. The way you describe the gingery, garlicky base really makes it feel warming and satisfying. Definitely a one-pot recipe I’d love to try for a healthy, cozy meal.
Myra says
This was dinner last night. The flavor of the butternut squash with the spices is divine. I'll be making it all winter. Thanks for the delicious recipe.