The Red Lentil and Spinach Dal

Updated: Dec 21, 2020

Indian cuisine is my new cooking thing. It’s flavourful, colourful and also very healthy. It’s full of vegetables, spices and herbs (cumin powder, coriander powder, ginger powder, black mustard seeds, red chilli powder and turmeric powder among others), it’s high in fibre and low in saturated fat.

This is my very first Dal, I actually combined 2 recipes as I didn’t have any coconut milk – which most recipes require. On the other hand, I had 2 small sweet potatoes and some spinach that needed to be cooked urgently so I integrated them. The outcome? As good and tasty as your favourite Indian take-away. It demands very little effort, time and money!

If you’re a vegetarian and need your intake of protein, don’t forget to combine it with cereals/grains (quinoa or whole rice for example).

This recipe serves 4 (or two big eaters).

Ingredients

Red or Corail lentils, 300 gr
Sweet potato, 1 big or 2 small
Spinach, 150 gr
Garlic, 2 cloves crushed
Onion, 1
Tomato, 1
Cumin seeds, 1.5 teaspoons
Ground Coriander, 2 teaspoons
Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon
Ginger (fresh), 2 cm minced
Fresh coriander (for garnish)
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Heat some ghee (or coconut oil) in a large skillet on medium heat. First, add the cumin seeds. When they start popping, add onion, grated ginger and garlic and cook for a minute or two (don't let them burn though) until onion becomes translucid. Finally, add the tomato and all the spices and stir for another minute. Cook for about 3 minutes, continuously stirring. By now it should start to smell really good.

Dice the sweet potato and rinse the lentils. Add them the skillet with about 750ml of water, cover and bring to a boil for about 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly. Add water if necessary.

To finish, add the spinach and stir until they’re cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste, top with some fresh coriander and serve! Nom nom nom …

The health benefits of Red Lentils