Dhal

Nick and I spent last week in Byron Bay for the Blues and Roots festival - Bluesfest. It was AMAZING! Spending most of the days at the festival we had little choice but to eat the greasy fast food from the stalls. So once we returned to the Gold Coast we were both craving a home cooked meal and so I cooked dahl.

This recipe is great when you haven't been to the supermarket for a while as all the ingredients don't go off easily. It's very quick and easy to make and makes a hearty meal.

I find it much easier for this recipe to prepare all the ingredients before starting to cook and therefore in the ingredients I have written what to do with the ingredients prior to cooking. I soaked the lentils and dhal for a few hours in cold water but this is not necessary as it only makes the pulses cook quicker.

Variations - this dish can be made using just red lentils or add four bean mix.
- substitute potatoes for pumpkin or sweet potato
- add a few spinach leaves at the end
- use chicken or onion stock instead of vegetable stock

Dahl
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic
- 2 bay leaf
- 1-2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons of curry powder
- 2/3 cup of red lentils
- 1/3 cup of chana dhal (split chickpeas, available at supermarkets)
- small tin of coconut milk
- vegetable stock cube
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 potatoes, chopped into small cubes
- salt

Method
1. Slice onion thinly. Fry the onions, garlic and bay leaf in olive oil till lightly golden.

2. Add ginger and curry powder and fry on medium heat for 5 minutes

3. Add lentils and chana dahl and fry for 3 minutes, stirring continuously


4. Dissolve the stock cube in the boiling water and add to the pan along with the coconut milk and potatoes and stir.

5. Leave the dhal to cook on low heat for 50-60 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn't stick to the pan. If the dahl isn't cooked add slightly more boiling water and cook for 10-15 minutes covered. Add salt if needed, some stock cubes are very salty and therefore the dahl won't need extra salt.

6. Serve with plain yoghurt and naan bread.