Asian food is probably one of the best cuisines to turn too when first pursing a vegan, plant based or vegetarian lifestyle. In particular, dishes from India, Nepal, and Pakistan translate very well when only using plant based ingredients. The flavours are exotic, spicy and versatile. Very cheap and basic veggies and pulses can be turned into magical dishes using the delicious tastes from the East. Plus, who doesn't like curry?!
Lentils make the main base of a daal dish. Lentils are a go-to staple for veggies and vegans. They are cheap, nutritious, all rounders, which are low in calories, almost fat free, easy to cook and full of protein. I have chosen to use split red lentils for this recipe as that is what I had in my store cupboard, plus they are the quickest lentils to cook, but you can choose to use whatever lentils you can get your hands on. Toor daal are the traditional Indian lentls that are used, but you can subsitute for yellow, green or red split peas. The instructions of how to cook will be on the packet, so just adjust my recipe accordingly. The same goes for the veggies. I added potato, cauliflower and peas to make the dahl more substantial and yummy. You can play around with what you have available.
Similarly, I have offered you a great spice mix here that can be used to create your daal. Again it is just a guide based on what I had available. The main things to take from this recipe is that you need to pack as much 'oomph' into your curry as possible. This is done by adding herbs and spices to both the lentils broth along with a dry mix used in the frying pan to release the flavour. I would recommend that you follow those instructions, but when it comes to choosing the mix, have fun and play around with the cupboard ingredients that you have. My recipes do not need to be followed to the T. I aim to guide you in eating a healthy and balanced plant-based diet, but please do experiment as this will inspire you to create your own wonderful dishes. The recipe can be found below, please let me know how it works for you or send me any recipes you come up with.
Potato, Pea and Cauliflower Dahl
1 lg potato, cubed
1 sm cauliflower, chopped
300g frozen garden peas
300g red lentil, rinsed
1 sm onion, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 thumbsized piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1 organic low salt vegetable stock cube (I use Kallo)
900ml water
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 bay leaf
5 green cardamon pods
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masal
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 dried chili
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons pink Himalayan salt
Handful fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 lemon juice
Instructions
Bring the water to the boil, in a large pan. Add the lentils, stock cube, bay, cardamon, turmeric, garam masala and chili powder to the water. Boil for a few minutes then reduce the heat and simmer. Time depends on the type of lentil, and the texture you want. I simmered for 25 minutes until the lentils were soft and mushy, and the water mixture had reduced right down.
While the lentils are simmering, add the coconut oil to a large frying pan and melt on a medium heat. Use a pestle and mortar or a spice blender to grind the dry spices (cumin/coriander/fennel seeds, dried chili). Fry the dried spice mix in the coconut oil to release the flavour. Add onion, garlic and ginger and fry until onions are translucent. Add potato. peas and cauliflower and fry for around 20 minutes, or until tender. Add additional water if necessary (this can be taken from the lentil pan). Season with salt. Add lentils and stir together. Add lemon juice and fresh coriander to taste.
Recipe serves 4 people with basmati/naan accompaniment or 2 people without.
Enjoy! Please feel free to leave comments below.
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