Weeknight · Instant Pot · about 30 minutes

“Red Dawn” Red Lentil (Masoor) Dal

Name: "Red Dawn" Red Lentil (Masoor) Dal
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 14 g coconut oil; 1 ¼ tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp curry powder; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 ½ tsp granulated garlic; ½ tsp ground turmeric; ½ tsp cayenne; 1125 ml water; 24 g Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base; 3 tbsp dried chopped onion; 380 g red lentils; 3 tbsp dried vegetable soup blend; Cooked basmati rice, cilantro, and vegan yogurt, to serve

Red lentils melt into a quick, golden dal — bloom the spices, dump everything in, and pressure-cook to a soft, comforting bowl in well under an hour. Stephan's weeknight “Red Dawn.”

~30 min total 10 min pressure Instant Pot method

Spoon cost

Time ●○○○○ Anytime

Instant PotVeganGluten-Free

Servingsamounts scale to match

Units

Ingredients

Bloom the spices, then a short cook and natural release. Red lentils need no soaking and break down fast — ten minutes at pressure plus a natural release gives a soft, almost-soupy dal. Stir before serving; it thickens as it sits.

Easier, if you like

Fresh onion (½ small, diced) can replace the dried; sauté it with the spices.
Skip the soup blend for an even shorter ingredient list — no other change needed.

Method

Cook's notes

No Instant Pot? Same recipe in a soup pot: bloom the spices, add everything, bring to a boil, then simmer gently, covered, 20–25 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the lentils have fully broken down. Red lentils are the fastest legume there is — the stovetop barely costs you anything here. Add a splash of water if it tightens past thick-soup.

It thickens as it sits — loosen leftovers with a splash of water when you reheat.

“Red Dawn” is Stephan's name for it — fast, golden, and good any night.

Red lentils only here — they break down into a creamy dal; green or brown lentils would stay firm.

The dried vegetable soup blend is optional — it rounds out the body, but the dal is good without it.

Vegan and gluten-free as written

Vegan / gluten-free: it already is — just use a gluten-free bouillon.

Milder: drop or halve the cayenne; a milder curry powder helps too.