Quick and easy to put together, this colorful red lentil dish is slightly spicy and rich with the fall flavors. It’s also naturally vegan and gluten free!

Red Lentil Dahl with Roasted Pumpkin and Hazelnut

With this recipe, I’m taking part in a food contest, Colors and Autumn Flavors, organized by my blogger friend Epices & Moi. I really enjoyed the Fall season this year in Sweden and had a lot of fun cooking with colorful seasonal ingredients.

Among all the fall dishes, one is a must in my house. Each time I’m in a hurry or don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen, I go for this healthy red lentil dahl. Its colors match perfectly the leaves lying on the ground. Because of the contest, I figured I could add a twist and thought of a seasonal ingredient: I ended up using pumpkin!

Red Lentil Dahl with Roasted Pumpkin and Hazelnut

But let me tell you a bit more about this dish. What do we have here?

  • Red lentil
  • Roasted pumpkin
  • Onions
  • Toasted hazelnuts

And all this, deliciously perfumed with curry and freshly grated ginger. The result: a hearty healthy plant-based dish that warms you up at first bite. For extra flavor, I like to top with fresh cilantro. Tell me, what’s not to love about this dish? I could almost eat it every single day!

Red Lentil Dahl with Roasted Pumpkin and Hazelnut

Oh, and I forgot! This dahl is also naturally vegan and gluten-free. Plant-based food is definitely my favorite kind of food, and it could be yours very soon too.

Serve your dahl with a side of jasmine rice that will help you absorb all the good things contained in the lentils (protein mostly). I personally like to add some cardamom seeds to perfume the rice. Then enjoy with either a glass of white wine or a mango lassi like Indians do. If you went a little bit strong on the spices, the milk contained in the lassi will calm the spicy effect.

Red Lentil Dahl with Roasted Pumpkin and Hazelnut

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Red Lentil Dahl with Roasted Pumpkin & Hazelnuts

Red Lentil Dahl with Roasted Pumpkin and Hazelnut
  • Author: Delphine Fortin
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Plant-based
  • Cuisine: Around the world

Quick and easy to put together, this colorful red lentil dish is slightly spicy and rich with the fall flavors. It’s also naturally vegan and gluten free!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon strong red curry + 3 teaspoons medium curry
  • 1 cup (150g) red lentils, rinsed
  • 1 cm ginger, sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • Salt & pepper
  • 2 teaspoons rapeseed oil
  • 2/3 cup (100g) hazelnuts, roughly crushed
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 Tablespoon butter, unsalted
  • 1 1/3 cup (200g) pumpkin, diced
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and melt the onion until translucent.
  2. Add 1 teaspoon of strong red curry, then pour the red lentils and stir.
  3. Pour 2 cups of cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, while stirring to prevent the lentils from sticking. Add some water if needed.
  4. Add the remaining spices (curry, cumin, sliced ginger) and stir again. Season with salt and pepper*.
  5. In a medium pan, drizzle one tablespoon of rapeseed oil and toast the hazelnuts for 1 or 2 minutes. Add honey and set aside.
  6. In a clean pan, drizzle the remaining rapeseed oil and warm it with the butter. Add the pumpkin dice and stir-fry them on medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes, until they become tender.
  7. Take the pan off the heat, add the hazelnuts to the roasted pumpkin dices and stir.
  8. Just before serving, sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves in the red lentil dahl and stir.
  9. Serve the lentil dahl, and top with the roasted pumpkin dice and hazelnuts.

Notes

* It’s very important to season with spices first, otherwise you won’t find the dish spicy enough.

Did you make this recipe?

Lastly, if you make this Red Lentil Dahl with Roasted Pumpkin & Hazelnuts, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!

Red Lentil Dahl with Roasted Pumpkin and Hazelnut