There are many recipes for Dahl, in fact I have a great little book called ‘The Delicious Book of Dhal’ by Nitisha Patel that has over 40 recipes which I use regularly. But this is my version, it’s a base Dhal recipe but I use a turmeric and ginger paste and use coconut milk to make it creamy. This is often a favourite dish when I cater retreats, it’s a very comforting dish.
1-inch peeled, grated fresh ginger
1-inch grated fresh turmeric if you can get it, or ½ tsp ground turmeric
1-2 inch of cassia bark/cinnamon stick
1 x onion finely diced
2 cloves chopped garlic
½ tsp of each – ground coriander, ground cumin, chilli powder and garam masala
7oz red split lentils
1 tin coconut milk
600 mls boiling water
Sea Salt Flakes/Ground black pepper
Small bunch of coriander, chopped
2 tbs coconut oil
Melt the coconut oil in a deep sauté pan, add the onion and garlic and cook gently, be careful not to burn the garlic, the onion should remain translucent and not take on any colour. When softened add the grated turmeric (or turmeric powder) and ginger and cook with the onion and garlic for a further minute. Add the rest of the spices and coat the onion mixture.
Rinse the lentils and drain well. Stir the lentils into the onion mixture and fry for one minute. Add the coconut milk and the boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft, and the mixture has reduced and thickened. Stir in the coriander and simmer for a further 2-3 minutes.
Trim the broccoli stalks and cut any larger stems upwards to ensure they cook evenly, coat the broccoli stems with some olive oil and season well. Roast in the oven until cooked through and starting to char, sprinkle with extra chillies if required.
Serve with rice, naan bread, or both!
Tips/Notes
You could use butter, ghee or olive oil in place of the coconut oil if preferred and replace the coconut milk with water. It’s just the coconut makes it really creamy and moreish. A little squeeze of lemon juice will cut through the richness.
You could make double of the ginger and turmeric paste and freeze it to use at another time. I make mine in the nutri-bullet with some garlic and freeze it in ice cube trays.
You could use other lentil, but be mindful the cooking time may be longer, I use red lentils as they cook down and make the dahl creamy, they also look a great yellow/orange colour with the turmeric.
The dahl can be frozen and used on its own for a quick meal, or as a side dish to curry. You could also blitz the finished dhal to make a soup – adding a little water if you needed to.
You could replace the broccoli with cauliflower,or stir through some baby spinach. Some lightly pickled sliced red onions on the top for texture would be great. Add some extra fresh chilli if you like a little bit of heat.
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