Dec 06, 2024

Happy Pear's easy Indian Dahl: Today

We have cooked this dish hundreds of times and it is always well received. It's really very tasty, deeply nourishing with rich flavours in just 10 minutes. It's perfect served with toasted wholemeal pitta bread or wholemeal couscous or alongside a pack of pre-cooked brown rice.

Ingredients

Serves: 2 (hungry servings) or 4 (light servings with an accompanying grain)

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 5 mins, total 10 mins

  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • A thumb-size piece of ginger
  • 1 bunch of spring onions (scallions) (approx 6-8)
  • 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
  • 1 x 400g tin of cooked lentils
  • 3 wholemeal pitta breads
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 handful of baby spinach (50g)
  • 1 x 400g tin of coconut milk
  • 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 10 cherry tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon tamari/ soy sauce
  • ½ a teaspoon black pepper

To serve:

  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Chilli flakes
  • A small bunch of fresh coriander or other fresh herb of choice Instructions: 1.

Method

Preparation:

  1. Peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger.
  2. Finely chop the scallions, removing any limp outer leaves.
  3. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and lentils.
  4. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.

Toast the Pittas:

  1. Put the pitta breads in the toaster at max heat.

Cook the Dahl:

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil for 1 minute in a large saucepan over high heat.
  2. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallions, and cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients:

  1. Add the chickpeas, lentils, baby spinach, coconut milk, chopped tomatoes, curry powder, salt, tamari/soy sauce, and black pepper.
  2. Stir the ingredients together and bring to a boil.
  3. Once boiling, reduce the heat and let simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  4. Remove from heat.

Garnish and Serve:

  1. Squeeze the juice of one lime over the dahl and add finely chopped fresh coriander (including the stalks).
  2. Stir to combine.
  3. If desired, sprinkle some chilli flakes over the top for added heat.
  4. Cut the toasted pitta breads into "soldiers" (strips) and serve them on the side of your easy dahl.