Budget Friendly – Red Lentil Dahl – (VG)

by Lou Robbie

Chilly days call for a big bowl of nourishing goodness. And even when the cupboards seem bare, this spicy dahl can be whipped up with store cupboard staples. If you have some veg to use up you can roast it like my half butternut squash, or cauliflower, parsnips, carrots or beets.

You can go as spicy as you like here too with chilli flakes or fresh chillies. And amp up the garlic and ginger to ward off the winter bugs. So delicious and versatile and the perfect way to add more organic plants to your plate this January.

Lou x

Ingredients: serves 4

  • 1/2 butternut squash
    3 tbsp olive oil
    1 small white onion, diced small
    4cm piece of ginger, grated
  • 4 cloves garlic, grated
  • 1 small leek – diced small, optional
    1/2 a fresh red chilli, finely chopped- or 1 tsp chilli flakes
    Spice mix: 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp Garam masala
    1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
    250g dried red split lentils, washed and drained
    750ml veg stock
  • 1 tin chickpeas – drained
    Salt and pepper to taste
    More water to achieve desired consistency
  • To serve: plain yoghurt of your choice, fried curry or sage leaves, fresh chilli slices
  • To make it stretch further, serve with boiled rice and flatbreads.

Method:

Step 1: Preheat the oven 180ºc. Slice the butternut squash into semi circles, place on a baking tray, drizzle with oil, a pinch of salt and roast until soft- about 30 minutes.

Step 2: Warm a wide pot on a medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil and gently cook the onions until soft. Then add the leek, garlic, ginger, spice mix, tomato paste, maple syrup, salt and pepper to taste, stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the washed lentils and veg stock. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes then add the chickpeas and cook for a further 20 minutes. Stir the lentils every few minutes to make them soupy and creamy.

Step 3: Check that the lentils are cooked, adjust the seasoning if needed. Then serve with the cooked butternut squash slices, yoghurt, sage leaves and fresh chilli slices.

Easy Red Lentil Dahl with Greens

by Lou Robbie

This is a super economical dish that is nutritious, tasty and so easy to make. A great tip, I learned from a great chef, is to cook the lentils in a separate pot, strain and add them to the cooked curried sauce. This way the lentils cook quickly and evenly. More details in the recipe below.

We’d love you to try our easy basic dahl recipe and roast up some seasonal veg to add to it. You could add roasted carrots, parsnips, celeriac, beetroot, chard, spinach basically anything you fancy. We’ve used gorgeous iron rich broccoli and kale fresh from our farm.

Enjoy,

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: serves 4-5

  • For the lentils:
  • 1.5 tablespoons oil
  • 350g red split lentils
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp salt
  • For the sauce: 
  • 1 onion, finely dices
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 1 tsp garam masala 
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes – more if you like it hot
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 bay leaf 
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400g)
  • Added veg: 
  • 1 small head broccoli, chopped
  • 100g kale, finely chopped
  • To serve: lemon, yoghurt and chopped coriander

Method:

Step 1: Begin by cooking the lentils. Add them to a pot, rinse with cold water a few times to remove and dirt, discard the water. Then cover with fresh water add the turmeric and salt. Bring to a simmer on the hob and cook for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are completely soft. Stir a few times while they cook. Then strain and set aside.

Step 2: While the lentils cook start the sauce. Add the oil to a wide pot along with the onions, garlic and ginger, cook on low for 5-10 minutes until the onions are soft, put a lid on if you have one. Then tip in the spices, the curry powder, garam masala, chilli flakes, salt, bay leaf and brown sugar. Stir to coat and toast for a few minutes.

Step 3: Pour in the tinned tomatoes, add some water to the tin and swirl it into the pot and let the sauce cook on low for 10 minutes. Then add the cooked lentils stir and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Step 4: While the sauce cooks make chop the broccoli and roast it in the oven at 170ºc for 15 minutes or air fry 170ºc for 15 minutes. Finely chop the kale.

Step 5: When the dahl is cooked taste it, add more salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the roasted broccoli and chopped kale.

Pumpkin Dal

by Liz Child

A simple and soothing red lentil dal is a staple in our house. It’s a winner on so many fronts from the cheap, nutritious ingredients to the ease of the recipe. We love how flexible dals can be and how delicious they always are. There’s something textural about red lentils that makes every spoonful a delight.

This recipe is very flexible so please feel encouraged to make it your own. Sometimes we make it with a tangy tin of tomatoes, sometimes with a rich and creamy tin of coconut milk, depending on our mood. But we always have some fresh, seasonal, Irish, organic vegetables simmered in with the lentils! This week we used delicious kuri squash pumpkins which are back in stock now (as of when this blog was written) but you can use whatever veg you fancy. Some of our other favourites for dal are cauliflower, aubergine, sweet potato and carrots. Share your favourite variations with us in the comments or over on our facebook community group. We love swapping recipes over there.

Don’t forget to order your organic fruit, veg and groceries here, we deliver nationwide.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 1/2 a squash/pumpkin (like butternut or kuri squash), diced
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp brown mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • an optional tin of chickpeas, drained
  • a small mug of red lentils, rinsed
  • salt, pepper & chilli to taste
  • rice, lime & coriander to serve

Method

  1. In a large, heavy bottomed pan, sauté the onion and garlic with the oil until soft and golden brown. Over a medium high heat this should take around 10 minutes.
  2. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and stir fry for around 3 minutes to toast them and bring out their flavour before adding liquid.
  3. Now add the diced squash, rinsed lentils, tin of tomatoes, (optional tin of chickpeas), turmeric and ginger. Fill the tomato tin up with water twice, emptying it into the pot.
  4. Season well with salt and pepper then simmer, stirring often until the lentils are cooked through. You will probably need to add some more water as the lentils soak up the liquid.
  5. When the lentils and squash are cooked through (after around 20 minutes) and beautifully soft, taste and adjust the seasoning if you like with more salt. Add a squeeze of lime for acidity and some chilli flakes for heat if you like.
  6. Serve in bowls with rice (and optional other curries – we had a sort of lazy saag alloo which was just roasted potatoes with curry powder and some wilted spinach folded through) or just as it is with some bread. It’s delicious loosened into a soup too!

Swede, Kale & Coconut Dal with Curried Parsnip Fritters

by Liz Child
A page from my illustrated cookbook, available to buy from Green Earth Organics shop here.

Dal and fritters are staples in our house. The dal is especially useful to have in your repertoire for those days when you are low on fresh veg just before your next veg box arrives. And of course bulking out a dal with whatever seasonal veg you have is always a good idea. I like to make it with a tin of coconut some days, usually in winter when the weather calls for something rich and creamy, and with a tin of tomato on other days when I want it lighter and tangy (as in the recipe illustration from my book above).

My fritters are not dissimilar to onion bhajis. Here with curry spices in the gram flour batter they go particularly well with the dal and you can add whatever shredded veg you have around – cauliflower, squash, carrot etc. Fritters also make great sandwich fillers or burger patty alternatives and of course they don’t have to be curry flavoured, add whatever herbs and spices you like to make them your own. I love courgette fritters with fresh herbs in the summer, squash chilli and sage in autumn, celeriac, preserved lemon and parsley…the possibilities are endless.

As always, let us know in the comments or over on our community Facebook group if you make this recipe. We love to see our recipes leave the screen. Don’t forget to share this blog with your friends and family.

Happy cooking! Liz x

Ingredients for the Dal

  • 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • an onion or leek
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp each: brown mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, fenugreek, salt and chilli flakes or chopped green finger chilli to taste
  • 1 mug red split lentils
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • curry leaves (if you can get them fresh/frozen that’s best, if not dried is fine)
  • 1/2 a swede
  • a few handfuls of kale
  • lemon/lime juice

Ingredients for the Parsnip Fritters

  • 2 mugs of gram flour
  • 2 mugs of water
  • 1 tsp each: salt, pepper, nigella seeds, turmeric, curry leaves and chilli to taste
  • 3 parsnips
  • vegetable oil for frying

Method

Dice the onion or leek and soften it in a large pan on a medium high heat with the oil.

Add the cumin and mustard seeds and stir to toast them until fragrant. Then add the ground turmeric, ginger and fenugreek and stir to briefly toast for just a few seconds.

Add the mug of red lentils and the diced swede and stir to coat them in the spices. Then add the tin of coconut milk and two tins of water to the pan.

Season with salt and pepper and add the curry leaves (if you have them – buy online or at specialist Asian shops) and chilli flakes or chopped green finger chilli to infuse while the lentils and swede cook.

Bring the pot up to boil then turn down the heat and simmer, stirring often, until the lentils and swede are cooked through.

Meanwhile get the fritter mix ready. Whisk the gram flour, spices and water together into a smooth batter. Then grate the parsnips and add them to the batter. Stir well to coat all the grated parsnip with the batter.

Heat a frying pan with a generous slick of vegetable oil. Turn the heat to medium-high and fry whatever sized dollops of the fritter mix in the pan. Cook on both sides until golden brown on the outside and cooked through. It’s better to cook them slowly if they are large so that they don’t end up burnt on the outside and raw in the middle. Raw gram flour batter can be a little bitter.

Stir chopped and rinsed kale through the dal about 10 minutes before serving. Serve the dal and fritters in bowls with Indian chutneys and optional rice, popadoms etc.