Lentil Dhal Recipe
Cheap Vegetarian Indian Dish Made with Delicious Spices
Red lentil dhal is a warming, nourishing, vegetarian meal with a rich curry flavour thanks to plentiful spices. Red lentils are low in fat, rich in protein and packed with healthy fibre, as is true of all pulses, whether beans or lentils. Lentil dhal is a delicious accompaniment to a main course curry, and is useful for slimmers thanks to its rich flavor and high fibre content.
Lentil dhal is just one example of a simple way to to save money on food while eating well.
Lentil Dhal Recipe
Ingredients
(Serves two)
- 200 grams dried red lentils
- 1 small onion
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 4 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
- 4 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
- 6 green cardamom pods
- 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- Ground pepper to taste
- Fresh or dried chillies to taste
- Vegetable oil suitable for frying (such as sunflower oil)
Cook the lentils in water according to instructions, adding the vegetable stock cube and the bay leaves to the lentil cooking water.
“Dry fry” the coriander, cumin and cardamom: heat a heavy-based saucepan on a cooking ring until quite hot – do not add oil or water to the pan. Add the spices to the pan and shake the pan while still over the heat to turn the spices for around two minutes – they may crackle and release a pungent aroma – but do not them to burn. Tip the spices into a heat proof dish, and take the pan off the heat.
Remove the cardamom seeds from their pods, and grind the dry fried spices until reasonably fine using a pestle and mortar or a grinder. Chop the onion very finely. Heat a heavy-based saucepan and add a few tablespoons of oil to well cover the bottom. Soften the onion in the oil for a few minutes, stirring to avoid burning. Add the dry fried spices, the turmeric, and the finely chopped, or crushed, garlic to the onion. Fry gently for two minutes, stirring all the time. Add more oil if necessary to avoid sticking or burning.
Add the cooked lentils to the pan and stir thoroughly to mix all the ingredients. Add the chillies and pepper, stir, and leave to simmer gently for fifteen minutes.
How to serve dhal
Serve dhal as an accompaniment to a main course curry dish on a bed of rice.
Experiment with variations
Experiment with other spices used in Indian cookery in this recipe, for example mustard or ginger. You may also like to try mixing in other vegetarian ingredients to make a satisfying and balanced vegetarian main course dish, but do increase the quantity of spices to allow for the increased volume of the ingredients.
Another variation is to dilute with the dhal to produce a soup, adding lemon juice to add a delicious edge to the flavour. You would need to adjust the seasoning, and increase the quantities of spices.
