Yellow Dal Risotto
This Yellow Dal risotto is inspired by Meera Sodha’s “Quick Coconut Dal” from her book East. Sodha is one of my favorite food writers—I own both Fresh India and East and they’ve been absolute staples in my kitchen for years now. She writes the column The New Vegan over at the Guardian, which I highly recommend for delicious, seasonal, plant-based recipes.
Truly: I’ve never made a Meera Sodha recipe that didn’t work. I’ve made a few that weren’t my favorite (can’t fault an aubergine curry for being very aubergine-y, or an egg bread for—gasp—having eggs in it) but they’ve always delivered on their promises.
I paired this dal risotto with naan from Fresh India—I’m not going to give out that recipe, but she has a naan recipe over at NYT Cooking if you want to give that a gander. Or pick up the bread of your choice from your local Indian grocery.
This recipe uses a combination of coconut milk and water as the risotto broth. Full-fat coconut milk is very rich, so start with a 1:1 or even 1:2 ratio of coconut milk to water. Taste the risotto as you go so that when your saucepan needs to be replenished with broth, you can decide if you want to just add water or if you want to add part or all of the second can of coconut milk. In the end, I used 2 cans coconut milk and about 4-5 cans of water.
The risotto is rich and creamy, with a delightful lemongrass-ginger undertone, while the sambol is bright and zippy and acidic. This recipe is the reason Risotto Tuesday is now a Substack—I couldn’t let another A-Team risotto languish undocumented in my belly.
Yellow Dal Risotto Recipe
Serves 3-4
Sambol Ingredients
40 g shredded dried coconut
1 jalapeno, serrano, or red chili, minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
Juice of 1-2 limes
Pinch of salt
For the Risotto
3 tbsp butter
1 onion, diced and divided
1 jalapeno or serrano, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c lemongrass paste
1 tbsp crushed ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
3/4 c red lentils
3/4 c risotto rice
1/2 c dry white wine
2 x 13.5 oz cans coconut milk
1/2 c parmesan, freshly grated
2 limes, 1 halved for risotto and 1 quartered to serve
Salt
Naan, paratha, or other bread to serve
Sambol
Make this first if you want to concentrate on it, or while the risotto is cooking if you’re brave. I believe in you.
Place the shredded coconut in a heatproof bowl and pour over 3 tbsp freshly boiled water. Stir and let sit for a couple of minutes to rehydrate
Add 1/4 of the onion, the jalapeno, cherry tomatoes, and juice of 1 lime. Stir to mix.
Taste, and add the juice of the second lime if desired. Mix periodically while the risotto is cooking.
Risotto
Place 1 can of coconut milk and a big pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Add 1-2 can’s worth of water to fill the pan. Simmer over low heat.
Heat 3 tbsp butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the remaining 3/4 of the onion, the entire jalapeno, and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring periodically, until the onions are tender and translucent and the peppers are soft.
Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
Add the lemongrass paste, ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric and fry for a minute.
Add the red lentils and rice together. Stir until the rice is translucent around the edges and everything is coated in oil and spices.
Add the white wine and stir vigorously until absorbed.
Begin ladling the coconut milk broth into the pot, about 1/2 cup at a time, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding the next. It will take about an hour before the rice and lentils are both soft. Taste as you go. Adjust the heat so it is neither too high nor too low - it should take about 6 minutes in between each ladle of broth.
When the broth pot is low, replenish it with more coconut milk and water in your desired ratio.
The risotto is done when both the lentils and the rice are soft and tender and not at all chalky. It will look a little thinner than an all-rice risotto, but will thicken up once off the heat. Add the parmesan all at once and stir to incorporate. Squeeze in the juice of a lime and stir.
Serve topped with the sambol with bread and a lime quarter on the side.
May your table be full of friends & love. Til next Tuesday—
xoxo,
Shell 🐚
Make it? I want to see! Tag me @seabornecloud on Instagram and use the hashtag #RisottoTuesday.