Indian style dal with rice and spinach
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Total Time
45 minutes
Background
This Indian-style dal with rice is based on the traditional tadka dal dish, but the rice is added to the lentils. Also, I used three different pulses for an interesting texture.
Ingredients
- ½ cup moong dal (split petite yellow lentils)
- ½ cup Chana dal
- ½ cup moth or mung beans
- 2cm piece of ginger
- 2 cm piece turmeric root (or ½ teaspoon turmeric powder)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup brown basmati rice
- 2 carrots
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 cups water
- 100g spinach
- For Tempering/Tadka:
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1 green or red chilli, chopped
- 6 curry leaves
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- Juice of half lemon
Instructions
- Soak the lentils and beans overnight.
- Drain and put them in a pressure cooker or a big pot.
- Rinse and drain the rice, add to the pot.
- Cut the carrots into big chunks. Peel the roots. Add these to the pot.
- Add the water.
- Bring to the boil, then pressure cook for 10-15 minutes, or cook over low heat for about 30 minutes.
- When the stew is soft and creamy, remove the bay leaf, ginger & turmeric roots. Discard these.
- Mix in the spinach, put the lid on and let it wilt.
- Make the tadka. Heat the oil in a frying pan and stir-fry the cumin and mustard seeds for a minute, or until they start popping. Add the onion, cook for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic, chopped tomatoes and chilli and fry for 5 minutes or so, stirring constantly to make sure they don’t burn. When the onion is soft, add the curry leaves, stir for a few seconds, then turn off the heat. Add the garam masala, turmeric powder and stir for a few seconds.
- Add the tadka to the stew and combine. Warm it through, if needed.
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice, garnished with coriander leaves.
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Categories
- Meal Type: - Budget - Everyday - Lunch - Main - One Pot - Supper
- Cuisines: - Indian
- Occasions: - Bonfire Night - Dinner Party - Sports Food
- Ingredients: - Other Pulses - Rice
- Health and Diet: - Combination - Dairy Free - Detox - Diabetic - Egg Free - Gluten Free - Healthy - High Fibre - Nut Free - Sugar Free - Vegan
- Skill Levels: - Moderate
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