Winter has arrived. Despite the cold weather and short days, there is a lot to look forward to in terms of cooking and winter recipes. It is the time for soups and stews, fragrant curries and pies, rich chutneys and cheeses. We could go on, but for now we will leave you with this easy spinach dal recipe. This dal is vegan-friendly, high on flavour and packed with fibre + proteins leaving you feeling full for longer. Serve it with some Basmati (or any long grain) rice and a dollop of yogurt for a complete meal.
Lentils To Choose From
There are a variety of lentils available to choose from. This spinach dal recipe uses “split” red or yellow lentils. Yellow Mung dal lentils are the best as they cook the fastest and are the easiest to digest. Because of their split nature these yellow/red lentils cook quickly and turn soft. These lentils are best for curries, stews and dal recipes like this one.
Further we found a cool infographic with quick tips on cooking lentils, nutrition facts and ways you can incorporate more lentils in your diet. Enjoy!
Source: Fix.com Blog
Sourcing Lentils & other Ingredients at Alfalfa House
Alfalfa House stocks all the ingredients for making this wholesome flavourful dal i.e. lentils, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and fresh spinach( Order our weekly veg box here).
Using dried lentils vs the canned variety makes a huge difference. We have access to a wide variety of dried lentils in our very own Alfalfa House. Buying a bag of red lentils won’t break the bank, will be good for your body and the planet. So whatever your reason for including lentils in your diet, we hope you enjoy cooking these as much as we do!
If you do make this spinach dal, please share your photos and tag us on Alfalfa House Instagram. We would love to see your creations 🙂
Spinach Dal (Lentil) Recipe
A recipe for a quick and easy vegetarian gluten-free spinach and lentil dal. This is great as a light meal or can be served as a side. Use coconut oil instead of ghee to make it vegan. The soup uses yellow mung/moong bean , but you can substitute any other lentils on hand like red lentils, green mung, split peas
- 1 cup yellow mung bean lentils
- 120 g baby spinach leaves
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 1 small tomato (finely diced)
- 2-3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 knob ginger (grated, thumb sized piece)
- 1 medium green chilli (chopped)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp ghee (or virgin unrefined coconut oil for vegan version)
- 1/2 small small lemon (juiced)
In a deep sauce pan, boil the mung bean lentils with water. Keep cooking for about 20 minutes until the lentils turn soft and mushy. Alternatively use a pressure cooker to quickly cook them in about 10 min.
Once lentils are cooked, begin the tempering process. In another sauce pan heat ghee and cumin seeds. Allow them to sizzle.
Next add in the chopped green chilli, garlic and onion in that order. Sauté until the onions turn translucent.
Add a pinch of salt and turmeric powder. Then add in the chopped tomatoes and chopped ginger. Sauté for a few minutes until the tomatoes are cooked through and turn mushy.
Next add the boiled lentils and baby spinach. Mix well.
Add boiling water to bring to the thickness of soup / stew you desire.
Bring to a boil for a few minutes. Then pour the soup in bowls and squeeze over the lemon juice.
Making it Vegan: Use coconut oil instead of ghee to make it vegan
Recipe Contributor : Adity Kaushal, (Volunteer and Member at Alfalfa House Co-op , Newtown)
She also writes all about vegetarian, healthy plant-based recipes over at the urbanfoodlover website
Or follow along her Foodie journey for more recipes and Inspo over on Instagram @urbanfoodlover