food 4 tots

Lentil and vegetable curry

lentil, curry, vegetarian, Food For Tots, recipes for toddlers, Indiah dhal

RECIPE FOR LENTIL AND VEGETABLE CURRY

Source: My own concoction

Serve: 4-5

Ingredients:moong dal, mung bean, lentil, dal, food for toddlers
200g pumpkin – cut into chunks
2 large tomatoes – chopped
4 lady fingers (okra) – removed top and tip, then cut into half
70g split moong dal (split mung beans) – pick up stones and foreign particles, washed and rinsed well in several changes of water
80g cauliflower – cut into small florets
1 onion – sliced thinly

Seasonings:
1 tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin powder (I prefer powder than seeds because the smell is milder)
½ tsp tumeric powder
10 curry leaves (Use more if you love the aroma)
Coriander leaves (chopped coarsely)
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Water (about 1 cup)

Methods:spices, herbs, mustard seeds, cumin powder, tumeric powder

  1. In a small cooking pot, add in split moong dal and fill with water ½ inch above the dals. Bring it to a boil (Note 1) and simmer (with lid half-covered) until the water is fully evaporated and the dals turns soft. Stir the dals occasionally to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté onion, mustard seeds and curry leaves until fragrant, and the seeds pop.
  4. Add in cumin and tumeric powder. Stir fry to mix well.
  5. Add in pumpkins and cauliflowers. Stir fry for a while.
  6. Then add in tomatoes and mix well. Add in enough water to just slightly cover the ingredients (about 1 cup). Cover with lid and simmer for 5 minutes until the pumpkins and cauliflower are half-cooked.
  7. Add in dals (from step 1) and lady fingers. Stir-well and simmer (cover with lid) until all the ingredients turn soft and the curry is thicken.
  8. Add in coriander leaves and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Dish out and serve hot.

Note:curry leaves

  1. Remember to standby as the water will overflow during boiling.
  2. As split moong dal can easily cook and turn soft, hence pre-soaking is not required.
  3. Best serve with rice or chapattis. You can also make this curry as thick or thin, depending on whether you want to serve it with rice or chappatis.
  4. You can use any kind of lentils or beans such as green lentil, yellow lentil, red lentil, cow pea, chick peas etc. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.
  5. Other types of vegetables you may consider are potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, brinjals, beans, cabbage, raddish, green peas etc.


lentil and vegetable curry

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52 Comments

  1. anncoo says:

    Mmm…looks very delicious! Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe, already bookmarked it.

  2. Great meal, I think my little toddler would love this, he is into eating curry as well!

  3. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Low Lai Kuan. Low Lai Kuan said: Lentil and vegetable curry – a healthy yet tasty super fast meatless dish! http://bit.ly/dC1ZhE […]

  4. Joanne says:

    I can never get enough of the pumpkin curry combination. I love that you added lentils into the mix. What a lovely dish!

  5. mycookinghut says:

    This is one of my favourites!! I also like this with roti canai.. hehe..

  6. Alice says:

    My family just loved Dhal Curry to bits, especially with roti canai or capati, especially my son…. 😀 Will definitely give this a try! 🙂

  7. sweetlife says:

    what a great dish, my girls would love this, they love pumpkin flavor and the spices are so flavorful..thanks fro sharing

    sweetlife

  8. ruchikacooks says:

    very colorful and healthy. Thanks for the entry!

  9. noobcook says:

    very nice food styling and photography as usual. I love Indian style curry … they are always so flavourful because of the spices!

  10. LCOM says:

    Looks great! I might try it because I love vegetable curry.

  11. Quinn says:

    Is this something we dip into when we eat roti canai? Kinda like Dhal?

    • food-4tots says:

      Quinn: Yeah, you’re right but they may use a different combinationn of ingredients eg, curry powder and chilli powder. Some of the vegetables (pumpkin, lady fingers and cauliflowers) are my personal add-on. 😉

  12. MaryMoh says:

    Wow…love the bright colour. Looks healthy and delicious. I like it.

  13. peanutts says:

    Hi, long time havent checked in, soooooo sorry havent abandoned you hehe, nice curry, love the photoes. have a nice weekend

  14. Beautiful vegan dish with healthy ingredients.

  15. tigerfish says:

    You had me with all the spices you used. I use them so often and I bet you can tell I love homemade Indian food/curries 🙂

    So are lentils and split moong dal the same thing? I bought lentils recently but those were green.

    • food-4tots says:

      Tigerfish: Yes, I can tell that from your posts. I love Indian food too especially Northen Indian. Correct me if I’m wrong. Lentils are not split moong dal. But both fall under the category of legume/ pulse. Some called split moong dal as moong lentils. The ones you bought are called green lentils.

  16. Dora says:

    Have tried something like this before at an Indian food stall. Not bad, quite like it.

  17. Carolyn Jung says:

    I love veg curries. First, the color is always so glorious looking. Second, they’re just packed with such tender, satisfying veggies that are so good for you, too.

  18. Alisa says:

    All your recipes are fantastic, I cant make up my mind which one to try first 🙂 Im going to share your site to my friend who has three little rambunctious angels. I just know she will love this too :)If you wont mind I’d love to guide Foodista readers to this post.Just add the foodista widget to the end of this post and it’s all set, Thanks!

  19. I love lentils, and this dish sounds delicious with the vegetables and spices!

  20. Little Inbox says:

    This is a healthy Indian curry yea? I’m not so well in Indian curry spice. At least I learned a bit today. 🙂

    • food-4tots says:

      Little Inbox: This is a modified version of Indian curry, suitable for toddlers like my son. I’m not an expert too, still a novice in Indian cooking. 😉

  21. Yes, simple yet versatile, also a nice meatless dish which is good for spicing up our appetite, though it is not spicy.

  22. I really love your photography….so magazine, and professional.

  23. felicia says:

    this reminds me of my mother.
    she cooks the most wicked vege curry!
    and its my favourite dish.
    just grab some rice and im good to go! hehe.

  24. […] from Singapore has a wonderful combination of spices, vegetables and lentils in her lentil curry and she shares information about the medicinal aspects of these ingredients […]

  25. Rae F says:

    I’m confused. Lady fingers? The filled cakes? Please unconfuse me.

    • food-4tots says:

      Rae F: These lady fingers are also known as “okra” (not the ones we use in making Tiramisu). You can refer to this post for the photo and more info. Sorry for the confusion. 😉

  26. malini says:

    Hi..yes love ur recipes but my gal is only 13mths..is it applicable to use so much seasonings in her food.Currebtly I only use very little olive oil n unsalted butter in cooking for her..can u advise me on any chicken n fish dishes for her using very little sesonings..

    thk u

    • food-4tots says:

      Malini: Thanks! Glad that you like my recipes. My recipes are suitable for toddlers aged 2 and above. As for your gal, it is best to cook dishes with no seasoning. A little bit of olive oil and salt are fine. I did that for my son too. Use more fresh ingredients to enhance the flavour of your chicken or fish dishes such as tomato, pumpkin, celery etc. You can make her dishes more appealing by playing with colour and shape. Hope it helps. 😉

  27. Menakha says:

    Just a small tip from me.. Instead of lemon juice you can use tamarind.. Soak in water.. And add a lil bit of sambar powder to enhance the taste :))

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