I have long been a huge fan of Indian food, so preparing my own was always a goal to do well. I’ve traditionally stuck to curry using curry paste and coconut milk as my base. But I found a recipe for Lentil Dahl to use up a bunch of leftover lentils, and once I started making it, I realized it called for curry paste and I didn’t have any on hand – necessity is truly the birth place of invention! I’ve recreated my own version of this recipe to a point that we love it! And it is filled with nourishing ingredients and relies heavily on pantry staples. In this day of quarantine, I’ll link up to as many of the supplies as I can so you can order anything you might need. Also, this recipe is forgiving, use what you have and get creative! I’ll list subs where I have them or tell you what is good added to this that I may not have had.
Lentil Dahl
Ingredients
- 5-6 garlic cloves, minced, allowed to rest 10 minutes for maximum allicin levels
- 1 onion chopped – I allow this to rest as well
- 2-3 carrots, chopped
- ~2Tbsp oil (avocado, ghee, I used coconut because it’s what we have)
- 1-2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2-1tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp tomato paste (I buy mine in a tube and keep it in the fridge to give a little extra something to meals)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp cayenne (for health benefits and a bit of heat)
- 2-3Tbsp fresh grated/minced ginger
- 2 Cups dry lentils (I soak mine ~2 days in advance – see my note below about soaking lentils), red are traditional, I used brown because it’s what we had!
- 5 cups broth (I used homemade chicken bone broth)
- 1-2 handfuls of spinach
- 1 can full fat coconut milk (my fav is Trader Joe’s and we keep plenty on hand until we can have our own place and Robbie can grow his coconuts again and make the best dang coconut milk ever…yummmm)
- Serve with Rice or Naan
- Also delicious:
- Fresh red pepper (we were out this time)
- Green onion
- Cilantro
- Lemongrass
- Canned tomatoes (diced, crushed, whole, etc)
- Coconut Cream for serving
Directions
Mince the garlic and onion and let sit 10 mins. Heat the oil in a large pot (all the ingredients will go in this pot) and saute the garlic and onion. Add in the carrots and saute. Add in some ginger and saute. Make a well and add a bit more oil. Saute your turmeric and tomato paste. Add in the rest of the spices and saute. Dump in the lentils and the broth and bring to a boil. Cover and turn down to simmer for 20 minutes or so. Once the lentils are cooked, add in the spinach and cook for a few minutes (you can add this at the beginning too – whatever you like!). Just before serving, add in the can of coconut milk. Stir up and serve over rice or with naan. Attempt not to eat the whole thing, but don’t feel bad if you do!
Soaking/Sprouting Lentils
Soaking your lentils helps break down phytic acid and makes them more readily digestible. I use my friend Shawna’s tips on this. Check out her Insta for a treasure trove of less toxic life tips. Here is what I do:
- 2 days before lentil dahl day (or however many you like – quarantine days called for freezing mine so that I could stretch them): pour your lentils into a large bowl and cover with filtered water (we use the AlexaPure system and are wowed by all the studies showing it may be even better than the Berkey) and a splash of ACV.
- Soak overnight
- Rinse in the morning and let sit in a strainer over a bowl to catch any drips. Cover with a kitchen towel. Rinse 2x per day with filtered water.
- Watch for sprouts!
Tag me if you make this! I wish I could share a bowl with each of you – when quarantine passes we will!!
xx,
