Soul Warming Root Vegetable Dal

I found this delicious and nutritious lentil and vegetable dal recipe from the wonderful The First Mess Cookbook by Laura Wright.  It has become one of my go-to recipes that I make especially in the Fall when the evenings are cooler and I want something to warm me up.  Plus, the recipe calls for nutrient-dense root vegetables which are in abundance this time of year.  Popular in India, dal is a soul warming lentil stew that blends fragrant spices perfectly with the heartiness of the other ingredients.

This is a one pot sort of dish which makes it easy to cook – my kind of recipe!  It does however require quite a bit of chopping, so a food processor is essential to lessen the prep time.  I tend to double up this recipe and freeze whatever is not eaten in small glass containers so I have a quick meal any night of the week.  

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

1 cup red split lentils, rinsed
1 cup finely diced, peeled root vegetables of your choice (I really like beets, carrots and sweet potato or butternut squash)
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
pinch of dried chili flakes
3 1/2 cups filtered water
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional as garnish)
lemon wedges (optional, for serving)

Directions:

• In a medium to large pot (depends if you’re doubling the recipe), add the rinsed lentils, diced root vegetables, diced onion, halved tomatoes, garlic, ginger, turmeric and chili flakes.  Pour the water into the pot and give a stir.
• Place the pot on stove over medium heat and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and let simmer for about 40 minutes, whisking the dal often.  The lentils should be completely broken down towards the end of cook time.  Season with salt and pepper.  Keep warm. 

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• In a small sauté pan, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat.  Add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and mustard seeds.  Once the seeds are popping and giving off a fragrant aroma, remove from heat before they burn.
• Spoon the toasted spice oil (along with the whole spices) on top of the dal and lightly stir.

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Serve the dal hot with chopped cilantro and lemon wedges as garnish.

I also sometimes serve over quinoa or brown rice.  And naan bread is great for dunking.

Enjoy!

”Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.”

~ Hippocrates