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white lentils cooked with cumin seeds and dried red chilies ready to serve in pan for white lentil recipe with cumin and dried red chilies

White Lentil Recipe with Cumin and Dried Red Chilies

White lentils cooked in about 10 minutes with a simple cumin and dried red chili tempering. A 10-minute soak is all they need since they're split and hulled, and the whole dish comes together fast with only 6 ingredients.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 5 People
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Calories: 550
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g white lentils
  • 50 g oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 7 to 8 dried red chilies cut into small pieces
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 glass water around 250ml

Method
 

Wash and Soak:
  1. Wash lentils under cold running water until the water runs clear.
  2. Soak in a bowl of water for 10 minutes.
  3. While soaking, cut dried red chilies into small pieces and set out cumin seeds and salt on a plate.
Fry the Cumin and Chilies:
  1. Heat oil in a pan or pot on medium flame until properly hot.
  2. Add cumin seeds and let them crackle for a few seconds.
  3. Add cut dried red chilies right after and fry for 30 to 45 seconds, stirring once, until they darken slightly and color bleeds into the oil.
Cook the Lentils:
  1. Drain soaked lentils and add to the pan.
  2. Pour in 250ml water and add salt. Stir everything together.
  3. Bring to a boil, lower flame slightly, put a lid on, and cook for 10 minutes.
  4. Check halfway through and give it a stir so nothing sticks to the bottom.
  5. After 10 minutes the lentils should be soft and thick with most water absorbed. If liquid is still sitting in the pan, take the lid off and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes to reduce.

Notes

Keep the flame at medium for the tempering step. Cumin goes from crackling to bitter in about 30 seconds on high heat, and once it burns you cannot fix it.