Tuesday 15 December 2020

Quick & Easy Dhal Dish

With less than two weeks until the festive season, 'time is of the essence'. Any short cuts to make life just that little bit easier are welcome. This Indian Dahl dish fits the bill, especially if you have a Slow Cooker. It gives four generous portions which are nourishing, sustaining, and cheap.

Ingredients
300g yellow split peas or red lentils,
1 large onion chopped,
tin of chopped tomatoes,
two carrots finely chopped,
5/6 Cavolo nero (Italian black cabbage) leaves shredded/stems removed,
one inch chunk of freshly granted ginger,
two cloves grated garlic,
1 tspn cumin,
1 tspn chilli,
2 tspns turmeric,
10 curry leaves,
1 green fresh chilli, finely sliced,
700ml veg. stock,
freshly ground black pepper &
natural sea salt.
Chop and prepare all of the ingredients, place in a Slow Cooker along with the stock and tinned tomatoes, add all of the spices, leave to cook on high for at least four hours or until the yellow split peas or red lentils are soft. Serve with Indian bread - naan, chapati, roti, or whatever you prefer. 

24 comments:

  1. We cook a good deal of Indian dishes, so this looks right up our alley. I have never heard of Italian black cabbage but I would imagine that another type of cabbage, or kale, could be substituted. We use cauliflower in Indian cuisine quite a bit.

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    1. Really you can substitute anything that takes your fancy - Cavolo nero is very dark green and particularly rich in iron. If you can get purple spouting broccoli that too has a good flavour and plenty of iron.

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  2. Sounds easy. I have never cooked any Indian dishes.

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    1. Having visited several areas of India and Sri Lanka too we are particularly fond of Indian/Asian food.

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  3. Dearest Rosemary,
    That no doubt makes a delicious meal and your serving photo is perfectly in showing that.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Dear Mariette - we are tending to eat more and more vegetarian food than we ever did when we were younger.

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  4. Hello Rosemary, This looks doable here, even lots of substitutions I don't think would denature it much. The really tough thing would be the Indian bread--I would have to go with rice. Jasmine is rather similar to basmati. The weather here is now cold and rainy, making this look extra good.
    --Jim

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    1. Hello Jim - what about a hot and crispy Ji Dan Bing made quickly on a griddle? Sorry your weather has turned cold and rainy, it sounds quite similar to the weather here. However, I must admit that we have also had lots of bright sunny weather too.

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  5. I imagine that could get quite spicy.

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    1. You can adjust the spice to as much or as little as you like.

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  6. I might actually try that one as I love lentils and it looks tasty.

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    1. If you have lentils then that is the way to go. Lentils often tend to be undervalued, but they are very nutritious and very cheap.

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  7. Yum, and my earliest dining out memory as a child was the taste of dhal in an Indian restaurant! Always looking to recreate the taste but have never tried the slow-cooker for cooking it. I shall definitely try this.

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    1. What a lovely childhood recollection - my parents were more prosaic where food was concerned.

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  8. That sounds good - I don't add the tomatoes, carrots or cavelo nero so will try your recipe.

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    1. The cavelo nero is a great source of vitamins and iron

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  9. Looks sounds and read a lovely recipe. So many meals can be cooked in the slow cooker.
    Take care Rosemary.

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    1. I love my Slow Cooker, it is ancient now, but it still works perfectly - p0p everything in, forget about it, and then enjoy.

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  10. Dear Rosemary,
    Looks good enough to eat. I love winter soups. I see that you and the new PicMonkey have become good friends.

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    1. Dear Gina - not sure about being 'good friends', but trying to get to grips with it before it finally disappears forever in only two weeks time.

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