This recipe for an Indian lentil curry is great for a weekday lunch meal prep. Because of its long cook time, you can cook it overnight and portion it out in the morning for your lunches. This recipe uses two different lentils: black lentils and split chickpeas.
The prep for this recipe starts at the Asian grocery store, because chances are you won’t be able to find black lentils at even a well stocked grocery store. Because I’ve had so much difficulty determining what exact type of lentil many Indian recipes require, I will tell you! Black lentils are also known as whole urad/urid or whole matpe beans. Split chickpeas are also known as chana dal or split yellow peas. I’ve now saved you at least half an hour of staring at 20 types of lentils in the Indian aisle!
Black lentils, or urad whole. 
Split chickpeas, chana dal, or split yellow peas.
Start by preheating the slow cooker on high. For this recipe, you’ll need to dice an onion, mince garlic, and dice jalapenos, as well as wash and drain the lentils. For the jalapenos, you can remove the seeds if you don’t want any heat. The main purpose of the jalapenos is to add a boost of freshness. I’ve made this recipe without them, and it’s a bit lacking.
Once you’ve prepped, dump all the ingredients in except the garam masala, stir, and cook it on high for 8 hours.
Serve over rice if desired.
Black Lentils and Split Chickpeas
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (6 qt)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- ¾ cup black lentils rinsed and drained
- ¾ cup split chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 14 oz petite diced tomatoes
- 1 onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 jalapenos diced and seeded to taste
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 4 cups water
- 1 tsp garam masala
Instructions
- Preheat slow cooker to high.
- Add all ingredients to slow cooker except garam masala.
- Cook on high for 8 hours.
- Stir in garam masala.
This recipe was inspired by The Easy Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook. (Bookshop)