One-Pot Red Lentil Butternut Squash Dal with Spinach and Cumin Tadka
Red lentil butternut squash dal cooked in one pot with tomato, ginger and turmeric, finished with spinach and a sizzling cumin-mustard seed tadka.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Serves
- 4
One-Pot Red Lentil Butternut Squash Dal with Spinach and Cumin Tadka is a vegan dinner recipe made with neutral oil, yellow onion, garlic. It takes 50 minutes of hands-on time, serves 4, and each serving has 446 calories, 21 g of protein and 12 g of fiber.
Cutting the squash into small half-inch cubes means it softens in the same 20-odd minutes the red lentils take to collapse, so everything cooks together in one pot. Mashing a few of the squash pieces into the lentils makes the dal thick and creamy without coconut milk. The tadka goes on at the very end: whole spices and garlic bloomed in hot oil, which adds an aroma that simmering alone can't give you.
Ingredients
Dal
- 1 tbsp14 gneutral oil
- 1 medium110 gyellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves9 ggarlic, minced
- 1 tbsp6 gfresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 tsp3 gground turmeric
- ½ tsp1 ggaram masala
- 2 medium246 gripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1½ cups288 gred lentils, rinsed until the water runs mostly clear
- 3 cups420 gbutternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 5 cups1.19 kgwater, plus more as needed
- 1½ tsp9 gfine salt
- 4 cups120 gbaby spinach, packed
- 1 tbsp15 glemon juice
Tadka
- 2 tbsp28 gneutral oil
- 1 tsp3.3 gblack or brown mustard seeds
- 1½ tsp3.2 gcumin seeds
- 2 cloves6 ggarlic, thinly sliced
- 10 1 gfresh curry leaves (optional)
- ½ tsp0.9 gred pepper flakes
To serve
- ¼ cup4 gfresh cilantro, chopped, for serving (optional)
- 4 cups632 gcooked basmati rice, for serving (optional)
Kit: large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, small skillet or tadka pan, potato masher or wooden spoon
Tips
- Keep the squash cubes small and even. Larger chunks will still be firm when the lentils are done.
- Get all the tadka ingredients ready beside the stove before you start, because the spices go from toasted to burnt within seconds. If the garlic turns dark brown, start again.
- Dal thickens a lot as it stands. Loosen leftovers with hot water while reheating.
Swap ideas
- Sweet potato instead of butternut squash
- A little sweeter and denser. Cut it into the same 1/2-inch cubes and the cooking time stays the same.
- Chopped kale instead of spinach
- Gives a sturdier green. Add it 5 minutes before the end of simmering so it has time to soften.
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes
- Works well when tomatoes are out of season. The dal comes out a little tangier and redder.
- Coconut oil for the tadka
- Adds a gentle coconut aroma, closer to South Indian-style dals.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
446kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 1.2 g 6%
- Sugars
- 5.5 g
- Sodium
- 924 mg 40%
- Potassium
- 1272 mg 27%
- Calcium
- 155 mg 12%
- Iron
- 8.3 mg 46%
- Vitamin C
- 45 mg 50%
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg 0%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Oil, canola, Onions, raw, Garlic, raw, Ginger root, raw, Spices, turmeric, ground, ORGANIC GARAM MASALA (KHAZANA, SLT Foods Inc.; USDA Branded Foods, serving size 100 g), Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average, Lentils, pink or red, raw, Squash, winter, butternut, raw, Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Salt, table, Spinach, raw, Lemon juice, raw, Spices, mustard seed, ground, Spices, cumin seed, Spices, pepper, red or cayenne
Method
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of the salt and cook, stirring now and then, until soft and turning golden at the edges, 6–8 minutes.
Stir in the minced garlic, ginger, turmeric and garam masala and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook, scraping the bottom of the pot, until they break down into a thick, jammy sauce, 4–5 minutes.
Add the rinsed lentils, butternut squash, 5 cups water and the remaining salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any foam that rises.
Lower the heat to a gentle simmer, partly cover and cook, stirring every few minutes so the lentils don't catch on the bottom, until the lentils have fully collapsed and a knife slides easily through the squash, 20–25 minutes. Add a splash of hot water if it gets thicker than porridge.
Lightly mash about a third of the squash against the side of the pot to thicken the dal. Stir in the spinach a handful at a time until just wilted, 1–2 minutes, then stir in the lemon juice. Taste and adjust the salt. Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
For the tadka, heat 2 tbsp oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop, 30–60 seconds. Add the cumin seeds and sliced garlic (and curry leaves, if using; they will spatter) and cook, swirling the pan, until the cumin darkens a shade and the garlic is light golden, 30–60 seconds. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the red pepper flakes.
Pour the sizzling tadka over the dal straight away. Scatter over cilantro and serve with basmati rice or flatbread.
Storage: Cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat on the stove with a splash of water, stirring until steaming. For the best flavor, make a fresh tadka when serving.
Questions
- How much protein is in one-pot red lentil butternut squash dal with spinach and cumin tadka?
- Each of the 4 servings has 21 g of protein, 12 g of fiber and 446 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is one-pot red lentil butternut squash dal with spinach and cumin tadka vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does one-pot red lentil butternut squash dal with spinach and cumin tadka take to make?
- 15 minutes of prep and 35 minutes of cooking, so 50 minutes of hands-on time.
- Can you make one-pot red lentil butternut squash dal with spinach and cumin tadka ahead?
- Cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat on the stove with a splash of water, stirring until steaming. For the best flavor, make a fresh tadka when serving.
- What can I substitute in one-pot red lentil butternut squash dal with spinach and cumin tadka?
- Sweet potato instead of butternut squash — a little sweeter and denser. cut it into the same 1/2-inch cubes and the cooking time stays the same.. Chopped kale instead of spinach — gives a sturdier green. add it 5 minutes before the end of simmering so it has time to soften.. 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes — works well when tomatoes are out of season. the dal comes out a little tangier and redder.. Coconut oil for the tadka — adds a gentle coconut aroma, closer to south indian-style dals..
- Does one-pot red lentil butternut squash dal with spinach and cumin tadka contain gluten or nuts?
- None of the ingredients are a source of gluten, tree nuts or peanuts. That is a statement about the ingredient list, not a guarantee about the brands you buy — always read the labels if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published October 2, 2026 ·Indian
