What could be more warming and nutritious on a cold winter’s day then a heart-warming bowl of dhal? With an abundance of natural healing properties from a beautiful selection of aromatic spices and herbs. A complete protein dish topped with yoghurt which is packed with probiotics, essential for a healthy microbiome. Ginger is a key ingredient – gingerol being the main bioactive compound, is responsible for much of its medicinal properties including powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. These properties are most potent when raw which is why I always add the fresh ginger at the end of cooking. I hope you enjoy making this very easy and nutritious dish for the whole family.as I especially do for my friends.
Dahl Ingredients | serves 6-8
- 1 onion – diced
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric or 3 tsp fresh
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 medium carrots – diced
- 1 celery stalk – sliced
- 10cm leek – sliced fine
- 400g cauliflower
- 5 mushrooms – sliced
- 2 small–medium zucchini – diced
- 1 litre cooked crushed tomato (or 3 tins crushed tomato plus 1 tsp tomato paste)
- 1 ½ cups split red lentils – soaked for 1 hour
- 1 lime – Tahitian or kaffir (plus the juice of 1 lime if required at the end to season with instead of salt)
- Handful of kale – washed and roughly chopped
- Approx. ½ bunch of fresh coriander
- 1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger
Method
1. Sauté onion in deep pot with a little water until caramelises, then add fennel seeds and the rest of spices, sauté for a further 2 minutes adding a little water as required to avoid sticking.
2. Add leek, carrot and celery for a further 5 minutes.
3. Add tomato and bring to a simmer.
4. Add cauliflower, cook for 5 minutes with lid on, then add rest of vegetables and 1 lime cut in half and simmer for approximately 30 minutes.
5. Once lentils have soaked, strain, rinse and place in boiling water to cook for 5-10 minutes, then strain.
6. Add lentils and kale to vegetables and cook on low heat for another 20 – 30 minutes.
7. When Dhal is finished cooking, season with the juice of 1 lime if needed and add freshly chopped coriander and grated ginger.
8. Serve with yoghurt raita and quinoa flatbread.
NOTE: – Dhal can easily be cooked longer, just need to be careful it doesn’t stick to bottom (remember there is no oil in this) A heat diffuser is ideal to use on the gas jet to help with this. You can add almost any vegetable to a dhal. Tofu cut in cubes is a nice addition too. Chilli is optional.
Quinoa Flatbread Ingredients
- 1 cup whole quinoa grain
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp nigella seeds
Method
1. Place quinoa and water in a high-powered food processor (like a nutri-bullet) for 1 minute. It will become like a smooth batter.
2. Using a parchment paper-lined tray, place spoonfuls on tray and spread each one thinly. Sprinkle with nigella seeds and bake in oven 180c for approx. 15 minutes or until they start to turn golden.
3. Rest for 5 minutes then peel of paper while still warm and serve.
NOTE : Can add any spices to the quinoa batter and/or savoury yeast flakes to create desired flavour.
Yoghurt Raita Ingredients
- 1 cup yoghurt (Ideally use homemade soy yoghurt)
- Half a cucumber – diced
- 2 sprigs of dill – chopped fine
- 1 sprig parsley – chopped fine
- 6 coriander stems – chopped fine
- ½ lime Juiced
- Ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients and serve.
