LENTIL DHAL WITH SPINACH

LENTIL DHAL WITH SPINACH 

A mild Indian vegetarian dish filled with aromatic spices that's healthy, tasty and easy to make.

Lentil dhal with spinach

There are so many variations on recipes for dhal, an Indian staple and one of the few vegetarian meals that Dad actually requests when he goes to an Indian restaurant. I know that Dad misses decent Indian cuisine. He spent his childhood in Burma and India, so his definition of comfort food is curry, curry and more curry. 

When Mum and Dad met, he let her know pretty quickly that the way to his heart was through rock n' roll and food. Mum worked in the music industry and took him along to the best nightclubs and parties to rub shoulders with the stars of the sixties music scene, so the rock n' roll part was covered. And as for curries; Mum - a Welshwoman who grew up in London - rolled up her sleeves and got to work mastering the art of making the perfect curry, learning alongside an Indian woman she met when they lived in Venezuela (long story). I guess she managed to find her way to his heart: my parents were married for 46 years, every day of which was filled with rock n' roll and food. 

Dhal is often a side dish, but I served this with paratha and rice to make a healthy main course. 

LENTIL DHAL WTH DHAL (serves 6) 

Ingredients

• 800g tinned lentils (normally you should use cooked yellow lentils)
• 300g frozen spinach
• 4 tsps turmeric
• 3 knobs butter
• 4 tsps cumin seeds
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp garam masala

1. Rinse the lentils under running water and place in a saucepan. Add enough water to cover the lentils to about an inch above the surface. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat.  Add the turmeric and 2 knobs of butter. Stir well, cover and leave to simmer.

2. In a heated pan, dry-fry the cumin seeds on a medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Remove and set to one side.

3. Add the frozen spinach to the lentils.

4. Add the final knob of butter to the frying pan to fry the onion, garlic and ginger. Once cooked through, add the cumin seeds to the pan and stir well, then add the garam masala.

5. Add the fried mixture to the lentils and spinach and stir well.

6. Serve with rice or paratha.

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