Dhal, Dal or Daal.
Lentils
There are so many types of lentils! Oh what fun!
You don’t need every variety, there are differences in cooking time, nutritional availability and texture but really, try a few and see what you like
Amazing things about lentils:
CHEAP
High in fibre (let’s keep those bowels active)
Zero fat
High in micro nutrients (vitamins & minerals)
Easy to make a delicious, filling dinner with
You can make vegan, gluten free bread with them!!
What’s so good about dal?
Not only are the lentils amazing as a nutrient rich belly filler, the spices you add are (in Ayurvedic cultures) considered to be medicine.
Cinnamon reduces risk of heart disease
Curry leaves are full of antioxidants
Ginger is an anti-inflammatory BOSS
Mustard seeds are delicious :-D
Fennel seeds fight the bloat - I add them to most meals to aid with digestion
You can go google every spice ever to learn more about their health giving properties so I won’t bore you.
Another super win about dal is that you can put anything in, it’s so versatile and it’ll be different every time you make it!
Tempering
Tempering your spices in oil makes them darned tastier and also basically grabs all the essential oils that contain nutrients from the spices and saturates the oil with them - this means they’re actually available for your body to use.
Tempering first: creates a mellow flavour as the spices have time to mingle and permeate the other ingredients in the dish - this isn’t so important with dal as it’s already broken down
Tempering at the end: POW! Flavour attack! The flavours are more vibrant and ready to smack you in the face.
Dhal, Dal or Daal Recipe
Yields: 4 portions
Time: 1-24 hours soaking, 1-2 hours cooking
Equipment: Bowl, big saucepan, measuring cups, teaspoon, stirring device
Ingredients:
1 cup lentils (use whatever you have/like! I like to use a random mix to get a full range of nutrients)
2-3 tablespoons oil - coconut, sesame, olive, use whatever you have cooking shouldn’t be stressful
Half a head of garlic, peeled and finely chopped/grated
1-2” square of ginger, peeled and finely chopped/grated
2-3tsp salt (I like Maldon for no reason other than it makes me feel like a professional)
Spices (I like, but feel free to add/minus anything)
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper (to activate the turmeric)
1 tsp ground coriander
A good pinch or curry leaves
3-4 cloves
1-2 star anise
2-3 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Half a lemon
Additions: Carrots, parsnip, onions, sweet potato, peas, aubergine, tomatoes, peanut butter (because everything is better with peanut butter)
Toppings: Fried tofu/tempeh, fresh coriander, coconut yoghurt, avocado, spring onion, sautéed kale, roast cauliflower, toasted almond flakes
Recipe:
Chuck your lentils in your bowl and cover with water, they will grow so make sure there’s a couple of inches of room. Soaking makes the nutrients in your lentils more easily digested and also cuts cooking time so win win. Leave for at least one hour (I usually just do it overnight cause very occasionally, I am organised). Drain and rinse when you’re done/bored of waiting.
Decide if you want to temper your spices first or at the end - see in the main text for details. If first:
Heat the oil in your large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the whole spices (any that aren’t powders) and stir around for a minute or so, they’ll start making all these sexy smells and popping a little.
Add the ground spices and stir for 30-60 seconds or so, don’t let them burn, you might want to add a little more oil.
Add the garlic, ginger, salt and lentils to the large saucepan! Stir over a medium heat to warm them through.
Cover with water till about 2” higher than the lentils - this may look like a crazy amount of water but you’ll probably need to add more!
Let the dal simmer for as long as it needs for the lentils to break down (you may want a chunky/smooth dal, anything is possible - just be patient). Keep an eye on your dal, stir it every 10 mins or so, it’s like a naughty pyromaniac child and will burn itself if you don’t pay it a little attention! Add more water if it’s looking saturated :-)
You can put in any additions whilst it’s cooking, I tend to add aubergine straight away (it melts into the dal beautifully), harder veg about 40 mins after the simmer begins and things like peas/tomatoes when the dal looks finished and I just give it another 5-10 mins.
If tempering at the end:
Cook through the recipe minus step 2.
In a small saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat and add the whole spices till fragrant (1 min) then the ground spices for 30-60 seconds, don’t let them burn.
Pour the spiced oil into the dal when it is finished cooking and stir.
Squeeze lemon juice into your dal, TASTE IT!! You might want some more salt.
Eat.