I use regular brown lentils here, but you can use red lentils, which cook faster, or the more traditional split pigeon peas known as tavoor dal (available at most Asian and Indian markets); they’re all good. There are so few beans they melt into the background, with the soft vegetables and shreds of coconut left swirling in the complex golden broth. If okra or zucchini isn’t your thing, use about 1 ½ pounds of whatever vegetables you have, in any combination, like winter squash, turnips, or sweet potato, to cauliflower, spinach, eggplant, or green beans.
