Red Lentil Dal
For the first part of the year I haven’t felt great health wise and I am trying to stick to healthy eating. Although I do cook whatever my kids want I don’t always eat the same thing. I am feeling a lot better now. However, I am trying to take it slow. If you know me you will know I really am a busy body. I try and do a million things in a day. I would be lying if I said I’ve completely slowed down. Let’s say I have slowed down to an extent. However, my body is making sure it “tells” me when I am pushing myself too much. Then I don’t have a choice but to slow down and rest a bit. For me keeping busy helps with my fatigue, as I said before. My kitchen is my sanctuary and keeps me sane. The one thing I have learnt though is to say No these days. Far too often I say yes to things because I am that people pleaser but it doesn’t help with my stress levels. Therefore I am now choosing what I want to do. And what sits well with my soul. Now for that Red Lentil Dal. This is a dish that cooks in just a few minutes and you will thank me.
How to cook this dish
Firstly, I soaked the red lentils for 30 minutes. It is not necessary but will make a little difference to your cooking time. I then added some onion, ginger garlic paste and spices and cooked the lentils together with tomatoes and vegetable stock. It is not common for stock or broth as an ingredient in Indian cooking. However, I have seen a lot of people outside of the Indian culture, cooking this dish using stock. Stock does add a rich flavour to some dishes and I thought it was a welcome change to my usual way of cooking a dal. I have also seen recipes with coconut milk and some add cream. I tried to keep mine simple without the creaminess. A lot of Sri Lankan dishes use coconut in their cooking. If you want to try that version add the coconut milk or cream and you can drizzle some lime juice into the dal too. Although I used butter ghee for this dish you can use olive oil if you want to keep it healthy.
Lentils are good for you
Did you know lentils are a good source of fibre, magnesium and folate and also helps support a healthy heart. It also helps maintain a healthy cholesterol level in your body. So go on and eat your red lentils.
You can serve this Red Lentil Dal with rice. roti or naan bread. My family prefers roti. I usually make another vegetarian dish with this so today it was Palak Paneer. If you do try this recipe please drop me a comment and a star rating. Always love hearing from you. More Vegetarian Recipes to try: Bombay Potatoes Creamy Vegetable Korma Chilli Paneer If you loved this, please share!
