Indian Spiced Dal Is One of the Most Versatile Dishes You Can Make
There are many delicious Indian dal recipes available online. However, to produce an outstanding batch, it is essential to pay close attention to the cooking process. Important factors include slow-cooking the onions, frying the spices until fragrant (but not burning them) and keeping the lentils tender without over-stirring them.
Once you have mastered the technique, you can start introducing new flavours with each batch, as dal is incredibly adaptable. Green beans, roasted pumpkin, courgette, extra spices, roasted garlic or garnishes such as flavoured yoghurt or marinated feta can all transform the dish.
Spinach and Roasted Tomato Dal with Fresh Lemon Juice
In this Spinach and Roasted Tomato Dal, sweet roasted tomatoes and zingy lemon juice give the lentils a fresh, Mediterranean twist. A fragrant spiced tempering is drizzled over just before serving for an extra kick. Serve with yoghurt, rice, naan or homemade flatbreads.
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Spinach and Roasted Tomato Dahl
Ingredients
- Cooking oil or ghee
- 1 white onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 heaped tbsp ginger minced
- 1 green chilli chopped fine
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 200g small tomatoes or regular tomatoes chopped into quarters
- 300g red lentils
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 150g baby spinach
- 2 tbsp butter or ghee
- 1/2 lemon for juice
- Yoghurt for serving or vegan yoghurt
Spices
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C. Toss the tomatoes in a little oil and salt, then roast for 15–20 minutes until soft and collapsed.
- Dry-roast the cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant. Grind them to a powder and mix with the garam masala, fenugreek and turmeric. Set aside a third of the mixture.
- Heat oil or ghee in a saucepan and soften the onion. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook briefly. Stir in the remaining spice mixture, then add the roasted tomatoes and tomato purée. Cook until thickened.
- Add the lentils and stock, bring to the boil and simmer with the lid on for 25–30 minutes until tender, adding a little water if needed.
- Place the spinach on top, cover and remove from the heat. Leave to wilt for 5 minutes, then stir through the lemon juice and season.
- Melt the butter or ghee with the reserved spice mix, then drizzle over the dahl. Serve with yoghurt and flatbreads.
