You know those delicious pouches of Tasty Bite lentils and red beans? They’re lovely…but they’re also – like most prepacked meals – significantly high in sodium. I recently changed jobs, so I’ve got a little more time for meal prepping on the weekends, and yesterday I made:

• Justine Doiron’s Garlic Bread Beans
• 15 Bean Soup with Andouille
• Shredded Chicken Mole (for tacos and leftover grain bowls)
• …and copycat Madras Lentils

That’s right. It’s legume and pulse season here at Chez Gladow.

I’d made saag paneer and garlic naan on Saturday night, so being able to pair the lentils with some leftover naan sounded delightful. Admittedly, I’m a bit of a spice junkie, so as I was fumbling through the creation of this recipe, I already had a fairly stocked pantry and some inspiration from dal makni. I also wanted to make this as inexpensively as possible – I’ll include some wraps and tips, but please be advised that this makes a lot (and it freezes well for future meals).

Copycat(ish) Madras Lentils

makes approximately 12-15 main course servings / full prep & cook time: 1 hour

• 1 lb, dried brown or green lentils (black lentils would probably be ideal, but they’re far pricier)
• 1 lb, dried small red beans (teeny-tiny kidney beans)
• 2 large yellow onions, diced
• 2 T minced ginger or ginger paste
• 12 cloves minced garlic
• 2 T smoked paprika (it lends the dish the trademark smokiness)
• 2 T Kashmiri chile powder (you can skip this or add cayenne to taste – but please know that Kashmiri chiles are much milder on the Scoville scale)
• 1 T cumin seeds (sub cumin powder, but maybe 1 t, so that you don’t dramatically change the profile)
• 2 t fenugreek seeds (skip if you don’t have)
• 1.5 T garam masala (you can sub in curry powder, but you might want to add a pinch of allspice)
• 10-12 oz, tomato paste
• 3 cups, coconut milk
• Ghee or olive oil

Soak your beans and lentils for at least 30 minutes, and soak/sort them. I cooked mine with scant salt in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes, but you can also use your stovetop and cook until tender. The lentils will cook faster than the red beans, so plan accordingly. You’ll end up with a yield of roughly 6 cups of each. While your beans/pulses are cooking, complete your mise-en-place.

Heat a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat, and splash some ghee or olive oil into the hot pan. Add your onion, stirring frequently to avoid burning, and cook until translucent. Lower the heat, and add your ginger, garlic, cumin, and fenugreek – stir fry for 3 minutes, and then add your tomato paste. Mix the ingredients well, and then add smoked paprika, chile powder, garam masala, and your lentils and beans. Stir until thoroughly coated. Add your coconut milk (you can add more if you like a stewier texture), and salt/pepper to taste.

Stir in a little ghee at the end for a little shine on your dish, if you like. If you’re dairy-free, obviously you’d skip this step or sub in a non-dairy fat.

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Now. Is this identical to Tasty Bite lentils? Mostly, but the flavor profile is a little deeper because of the toasted spices. This feels a little more like dal makni, but instead of the multiple lentils in that dish, I’ve opted for something affordable and accessible. It filled my 6 quart Dutch oven, and my kids are excited to enjoy it for winter lunches at school this week.

I’m sure someone reading this will find better substitutes and recipe adaptations, and I’d love to hear them! This recipe came after our new year Costco stock up trip – my husband and I stood in front of a box of Madras Lentils for 5 minutes debating the cost and nutritional label, and I mused out loud that I thought I might be able to approximate this at home with some success.

As someone who is actively trying to lower my cancer recurrence risk and my stroke risk, pouch and frozen meals aren’t an option for me. So I mathed the math, and this recipe cuts the saturated fat and sodium in half.

If you make this, let me know what you think – I’ve transcribed this as best I can from memory!