Red thai daal with coconut sambal

Name: Red thai daal with coconut sambal
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 tbsp coconut (or rapeseed) oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 1 x 400g (14oz) can of coconut milk; 1 tbsp red curry paste; 1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp sea salt; 250g (9oz) red lentils (or any you have; just adjust the cooking times accordingly); 400ml (14fl oz) water; 80g (3oz) desiccated (dried shredded) coconut; 1 green finger chilli; 1 garlic clove, peeled; 25g (1oz) coriander (cilantro); Juice of 1 lime; Pinch of sea salt; Fresh curry leaves, fried until crisp in coconut oil; Chilli oil

Nisha Parmar brings lentils to new heights with this red thai daal recipe

By Nisha Parmar

7 March 2024

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Daal is a store-cupboard saviour. Dried lentils waiting to be plumped up and drizzled with flavour; the ultimate comfort food. Humble yet elegant, a bowl of daal is a love letter for the soul.

Here’s a hack to a flavourful daal with minimal ingredients: a shop-bought Thai paste has ginger, garlic, chilli, lemongrass and more, which saves you buying and chopping lots of herbs and spices.

Make the optional coconut sambal if you fancy, but otherwise a bowl of this Thai-inspired daal mopped up with paratha or rice is enough.

This recipe is an extract from ‘Share’ by Nisha Parmar (Quadrille).

Recipe notes