Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Recipe Wednesday - Spinach Dahl

Time for another yummy recipe.  I've adapted my own version from the recipe found here.  I read through all of the comments there and also added my own twist.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!  (I usually double this recipe.) 


1.5 cups yellow lentils - rinsed/drained several times
2 Tbsp. canola oil
About 1/2 Tbsp. mustard seed
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp.  turmeric
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. red chili powder
1-2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
3.5 cups water
Frozen Spinach (I don't measure, I just open the bag and put some in until it looks right - maybe 1-2 cups?)
1/2 cup Coconut Milk (optional) 

Soak lentils for 20 minutes.
Heat a good sized sauce pan (or dutch oven if doubling the recipe) to medium.  Add oil.  When hot, add mustard seeds.  Once seeds pop, add onions and cook until tender, transparent. Add in salt, turmeric, cumin, garam masala, and chili powder.  Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring so they don't scorch.  Add in the lentils, bouillon cube(s), water and spinach.  Stir to combine.  Turn up heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender.  If you'd like, now add in your coconut milk and heat til warm.  Serve over rice. 

I made this last week and took a picture of the spices while cooking -

So in the pot you will see the tender onions (not quite transparent) with the mustard seeds.  The spices are - top right, red chili powder, the the left, turmeric, bottom left is cumin, and bottom right is garam masala. 

Give this a try!  It is very yummy and pretty healthy for you with the lentils and spinach and all! 

1 comment:

Shelly said...

I went looking for a garam masala substitute and here is a recipe I found:

1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp crumbled bay leaves
1/8 tsp ground cloves

If it's something you think you'll use often, you can just multiply the recipe to make more.