Lemon-herb tofu with Mediterranean rice
Herb-roasted tofu with rice, courgette and parsley.
About 45 min · 470 kcal · 31 g protein per serving
Vegan
Red lentil dal with turmeric, tomato and coriander
Red lentils cooked soft with turmeric, tomato and fresh coriander.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 20 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm rinsed red lentils collapse in 22 to 28 minutes
- Photograph the finished bowl
- Time
- About 45 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 500 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 27 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
No regulated allergens in the ingredients as listed. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- chopped tomatoes. Tinned tomatoes vary in added salt; the sodium figure uses a standard salted tin.
Cooking steps
Rinse the lentils in a sieve until the water runs clear.
Soften the finely diced onion, the sliced garlic and the grated ginger in the oil over medium-low heat for 8 minutes.
Add the turmeric and cumin and cook, stirring, for a full minute before any liquid goes in.
Add the lentils, tomatoes and water. Bring to the boil, then simmer, partly covered, for 22 to 28 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils have collapsed and the dal is thick.
Take it off the heat and stir in most of the coriander, scattering the rest on top.
The useful detail
Cook the ground spices in the oil for a full minute before any liquid arrives. Turmeric and cumin are both raw and dusty until heat and fat get at them, and no amount of simmering afterwards makes up for skipping it.
Make it work for you
One serving is A deep bowl, half the pan. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Yellow split lentils instead of red
Firmer and much slower, around 45 minutes. Nutrition is not recalculated.
Leave out the ginger
Rounder and less sharp. Add a squeeze of lemon at the end instead.
Coconut milk in place of 200 ml of the water
Richer and sweeter, with more fat. Nutrition is not recalculated.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
A plant dinner where a single ingredient does most of the work: red lentils carry both the protein and a large part of the fibre.
| Energy | 500 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 27 g |
| Fat | 10 g |
| of which saturates | 1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 81 g |
| of which sugars | not calculated |
| Fibre | 16 g |
| Sodium | 250 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| onion | 120 g | FDC 170000Onions, raw | 48 kcal | 1.3 g |
| garlic | 15 g | FDC 169230Garlic, raw | 22 kcal | 1.0 g |
| fresh ginger | 20 g | FDC 169231Ginger root, raw | 16 kcal | 0.4 g |
| rapeseed or other neutral oil | 14 g | FDC 172336Oil, canola | 122 kcal | 0.0 g |
| ground turmeric | 1 tsp | Not calculatedA quarter teaspoon of ground turmeric weighs well under a gram, which is under 2 kcal at the energy density of any dried spice. | · | · |
| ground cumin | 2 g | FDC 170923Spices, cumin seedFoodData Central records cumin seed; ground cumin is the same seed, milled. | 8 kcal | 0.4 g |
| red lentils | 200 g | FDC 174284Lentils, pink or red, raw | 716 kcal | 47.8 g |
| chopped tomatoes | 400 g | FDC 170051Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice | 64 kcal | 3.2 g |
| water | 700 g | No energy | 0 kcal | 0.0 g |
| fresh coriander | 15 g | FDC 169997Coriander (cilantro) leaves, raw | 3 kcal | 0.3 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 1000 kcal | 54.3 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Ingredients marked “Not calculated” are excluded and could add at most 2 kcal to the whole recipe. of which sugars could not be calculated, because one ingredient’s record does not cover it; the row above says which. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool it quickly, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours. The FDA chart gives soups and stews 3 to 4 days. It thickens to a paste in the fridge; loosen it with water when you reheat.
- In the freezer
- The same chart gives soups and stews 2 to 3 months in the freezer for best quality.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout, stirring so it heats evenly.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
Try another recipe
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About 25 min · 355 kcal · 18 g protein per serving
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