Spicy Daal Food

DAL (INDIAN LENTIL CURRY)

Steps:

• Soak Lentils: Rinse lentils and leave to soak in plenty of water for 1 hour. Drain in colander.
• Heat ghee/oil in a heavy based saucepan over high heat. Add green chillies and fry for a minute until starting to blister.
• Add onions and fry until softened.
• Lower heat to medium, add garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Cook for 1 minute until garlic starts to turn golden and smells amazing.
• Add tomatoes and cumin, cook until tomatoes start to break down and thicken to a paste - about 2 minutes.
• Add lentils, water, tumeric and salt. Stir, bring to simmer, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour. Stir two or three times during the hour.
• Remove lid and simmer gently for 30 minutes to thicken, stirring every now and then. The dal is ready when it has a consistency like porridge - some lentils should be intact but some have broken down to thicken the sauce.
• Stir through garam masala at the end. Adjust salt if desired.
• Pour over Tadka, if using, and stir through.
• Serve Dal over rice, garnished with a sprig of coriander if desired.

SPICY VEGAN LENTIL DAHL

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a 3-quart stockpot or other medium-sized soup pot, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook, stirring often, until the chopped onion is translucent, about 6 minutes.
• Stirring constantly, add the water or broth, lentils, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and salt. Bring to a low boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are very tender.
• Stir in the tomato paste until well combined. Cook several minutes more, or until the soup is at the desired temperature and consistency, adding more water to the dahl if needed.
• Garnish with a dollop of dairy-free soy yogurt if desired. Serve hot and enjoy.

SPICY INDIAN DAHL

Steps:

• Place lentils in a colander and rinse under running cold tap water.
• Add lentils to a medium-sized, but deep, saucepan.
• For each cup of lentils, add 2 cups of water to the saucepan.
• Bring to the boil, turn heat down, and simmer 10 to 20 minutes.
• Do not allow lentils to become mushy- they should still be'al dente'.
• Drain when cooked.
• Melt ghee or butter over a medium flame.
• Add onions, garlic and ginger, and saute until onions are soft and light brown in colour.
• Add spices and salt, and cook a couple of minutes until lightly fried and bubbling.
• Add dahl, and stir well.
• Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water.
• Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, or until gravy thickens, stirring from time to time so that the dahl doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
• Add more water if necessary, or if a thinner dahl is desired.
• Garnish with fresh cilantro to serve.
• Variation: Add two chopped tomatoes with the onions.

BAKED POTATOES WITH SPICY DHAL

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the potatoes in the oven and bake for 1 hr until tender and the skin is crispy.
• While they are baking, make the dhal. Heat the oil in a medium pan and fry the spices to release their flavours. As soon as they start to crackle, tip in the onion, garlic and chilli, with a splash of water to stop the spices from burning. Cook for 5 mins until the onion softens.
• Add the lentils, tomato and stock, then cover and cook for 10 mins. Tip in the chickpeas, cover and cook for 10 mins more until the lentils are tender. Season to taste, stir in the coriander and spoon onto the jacket potatoes. Serve with chutney or lime pickle.

SPICY DAAL

Steps:

• In a large sauce pan, add the lentils and fill with water to cover. Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the lentils open and are tender.
• While lentils are cooking, heat butter in a large pan on medium heat. Add the choppen onions and fry until starts to clarify and then add garlic and ginger and until aromatic.
• Add spices to pan.
• Drain the water from the lentils and add to pan with 1 cup of water. Cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the dal is thick, if it starts to get dry add more water.
• Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.