The other day I tweeted that I must be the only person in the world who gets excited about lentils. I freaking love the stuff. But to my surprise I received a bunch of replies agreeing with me. Hoorah! I’m not a crazy lentil loving lady, well at least, I’m not alone in my lentil love.
I love lentils, I really do. They are tasty, filling, cheap, easy to cook and I’m pretty sure they’re nutritious too. Did I mention they were cheap?
Dhal, or lentil curry, is one of the cheapest meals you can make. A packet of lentils costs about a quid and with a few spices you’ve got a meal. That packet will provide around 12-15 portions. Thrifty meals are where it’s at!
Nutrition-wise, dhal is packed with protein and good carbs, it’s virtually fat-free and there are some great B vitamins happening in there. Ooooh, I do feel so virtuous when eating dhal.
I whipped up this particular recipe when the boyf and I were making a vegetarian Indian meal for the family. I’m trying to make an effort to eat less meat, for both health and environmental reasons, and Indian cuisine is totally the best for delicious vegetarian food in my opinion.
We made Sag Paneer for the family along with a spiced potato dish. As I was making dinner I realised that I wouldn’t be eating the Paneer (no cheese for me thank you!) and wanted an extra dish for my meal. So I quickly cooked up some lentils and made this delicious dhal.
The whole dinner was a hit with the family, and even my meat-obsessed father enjoyed eating a full vegetarian meal.
The great thing about a curry is that you can taste and adapt to suit your own taste. I made this dhal without any chilli as I wanted an earthier spiced aspect to my dinner with this dish. But do try this recipe out and add to it to suit your own taste. Other spices you could add to this dhal include; ground ginger, garam masala, chilli powder, fresh chilli’s, cumin seeds or even a touch of sugar.
By all means use my recipe as a base and experiment if you fancy it!
Dhal (Lentil Curry) (serves 8)
- 1 large onion, roughly diced
- 1tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp fenugreek
- 1 tsp salt
- 2tsp garlic puree
- 1 stock cube in 3 pints hot water
- 1tbsp (heaped) tomato puree
- 350g red lentils
- small handful fresh coriander
- In a large saucepan fry the onions in the oil over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Sprinkle with a little salt.
- Add the spices and garlic and stir for a minute.
- Pour in the stock and tomato puree. Bring to the boil and stir well.
- Add the lentils, stir and bring back to boil before reducing to a low simmer. Cover and cook for about 30minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season with salt, to taste.
- Serve with a sprinkle of fresh coriander (optional) and rotli (aka chappati, roti).
Enjoy!
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