A dal is usually only served as a side, however, in my kitchen it takes centre stage. I’m a huge fan of dals, no matter how spicy, with or without veggies. Whenever I spend an evening at home, I cook my dinner from scratch and thoroughly enjoy every minute of the process. As much as I love to cook for an hour or longer, on some days I’m just hangry and need food immediately. This recipe is perfect for these kinds of evenings – easy and quick, packed with nutritious veggies and warming spices, but most importantly, super comforting and delicious. Happy cooking!
Veg & Stuff
1/2 small onion
1 medium carrot
1 tsp coconut oil
70g red lentils
2dl water
0.75dl coconut milk
a handful of spinach
salt & pepper
Spices
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp madras curry
a pinch of paprika
a pinch of cumin
a pinch of vanilla powder
Serves 1
- Start by finely dicing the onion and carrot.
- Thoroughly rinse the red lentils under cold water.
- Wash the spinach and tear the leaves in half if they are particularly big.
- In a small cup, mix together all the spices and leave to the side.
- Add the coconut oil into a small saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high. As soon as the oil is hot, add in the onion and carrots and turn the heat back to low. Add a good pinch of salt. Stir constantly until the onions have gone translucent.
- Throw in the spices and mix well. Turn the heat up to medium and fry everything off for a couple of minutes.
- As soon as you hear the mustard seeds pop, add in the lentils, water and coconut milk. Stir well and bring to the boil.
- Turn the heat back again and leave to simmer for 10mins, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water if it gets too thick.
- Add the spinach and stir well until it’s wilted.
- Time for a taste test! Season with salt and pepper and add more chilli if you like it spicier.
- Serve the dal with a splash of coconut milk and a sprinkling of chilli. Enjoy!
Optional:
What to eat with this dal? Serve it with some toasted naan bread, along some brown rice or over a whole roasted sweet potato. To keep it lower in carbs, roast some broccoli and cauliflower on the side.
Overwhelmed by the spices list? Spices are the main reason why curries and dals are incredibly warming and flavourful. Trust me on this, it’s worth having a well stocked spice cupboard to bring your cooking to the next level. If you prefer, you can use any store-bought curry mix here though and adjust the hotness with more or less chilli flakes.
Like to bulk this up for batch cooking? No problem, scale up the quantity for however many portions you would like to prepare and add a tin of chopped tomatoes along with the coconut milk. Don’t forget to season well and you’re good to go! Dal is also super easy to freeze and heat up whenever you fancy a steaming hot bowl of goodness.
