Red lentil dahl and an experimental gluten free flatbread…

  

Having recently had fun with spices that I purchased from Spice Kitchen and throughly enjoying their curry paste/marinade recipe, I have been chatting to Sanjay from the company and asked him what he and his Mum, Shashi, would feed me if they took part in my ‘What would you feed me?‘ series..he sent over this red lentil dahl recipe of his Mum’s and is very happy for me to share it with you. 

Firstly, meet Sanjay and Shashi from Spice Kitchen…I love these photos; theirs is a new company, with an online shop and social enterprise, and the whole family is working together to build it and share their love of high quality hand blended and home ground Indian spices…’always sold with love’…

   

So, onto the recipe..

 

Red lentil dahl

Ingredients – for the lentils 

200g red lentils

750ml water (approx)

1tsp salt

For the masala

1tbsp ghee or vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)

1tsp cumin seeds

1 onion, chopped (I used a red onion)

1 clove chopped garlic

2 chopped tomatoes (in the absence of fresh tomatoes, I used 2tbsp tomato purée) 

1tsp ginger, grated

1tsp turmeric

1 chilli, finely chopped

1tsp fenugreek leaves

1tsp garam masala

Handful coriander 

   

 Method

1. Wash the lentils throughly, ideally leaving them to soak. When the water runs clear you know the lentils have been washed properly.

2. Place the lentils in a pan with the salt, cover with the water and bring to the boil. 

3. Remove the froth if there is any, reduce the heat and put the lid on the pan – leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Check the lentils are cooked by squeezing them between your fingers. Once soft remove from the heat. 

4. In a frying pan heat the oil or butter.

5. Add the cumin, onion, chilli and gsrlic and fry until lightly browned. Reduce the heat and add the tomatoes, ginger, turmeric and fenugreek. Gently let the ingredients cook down for about 10 minutes to make a thick masala paste.

6. Add the masala paste in the frying pan to the lentils. It should have the consistency of a thick soup but if it’s too thick just add a little boiling water and remove from the heat. If you prefer it thicker just leave it on the heat to reduce until you get the consistency you want.

7. Check the seasoning and add a little salt if required. Stir in the garam masala and coriander. Add extra chilli powder if needed. 

 

I ate this across two days, and, as is often the case, the flavour had developed even more by day two. I ate it with some roasted cauliflower and a ‘flatbread’ that I had had an idea about whilst walking Bob!  

The ‘flatbread’ was basically, a couple of tablespoons of natural yoghurt mixed with almond flour, coconut flour and gluten free baking powder to make a dough, then cooked on a tawa over a medium heat until cooked through. It’s definitely a success in the making…this first attempt held together quite well in parts, but not as a whole. As you can imagine, I’ll be working on it! It tasted good though 🙂 

I hope you like the recipe and enjoy meeting the face behind the Spice Kitchen – please note – I have not been paid or recompensed for the post in any way. 

I am bringing my red lentil dahl and flatbread to this week’s Fiesta Friday – yes, it’s that time, let you hair down and join the party (that’s a bit hard for me with so little hair, but I’m sure some of you can make up for me!!!) – this week co hosted by the fabulous Jhuls and Justine, both great ladies,with great blogs. Have fun! 

A couple of shots from my week to make you smile.. Enjoy xx