Traditional Indian Daal

When people mention Daal you instantly think curry and therefore accompany it with chapatti and/or rice. But that's just adding carbs and onto an already filling meal. Don't get me wrong though, eating daal with rice or with a chapatti is DELICIOUS so don't let me stop you!

But I personally like to have it as a spicy warming soup. The trick is to boil and whisk the the lentils into a soupy state, then once you're happy with the consistency, you 'cook' the mixture into your spices to give it all the flavours that make your tastebuds tingle, as well as a beautiful, curried aroma!

TIP: You can batch cook and freeze this. It can stay in the fridge for about a week. The below recipe makes approx. 4 servings so you can double up if you want to!

INGREDIENTS:

Lentils required - mixed all of these together

• 2 fistfuls mung beans

• 2 fistful split urad daal

• 1 fistful split channa daal

• 1 fistful pigeon peas (toor daal)

Other Ingredients:

• 1 onion - finely chopped

• 1 1/2 tbsp ginger - finely chopped or ground

• 1 tbsp green chilli - finely chopped or ground

• 1 tbsp garlic

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 1 1/2 tsp coriander & cumin powder (dhania jeera)

• 1 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/3 tsp mustard seeds (rye)

• 1 tsp coconut oil

• dried whole red chillies

• bay leaves

• 1/4 cup passata

• fresh coriander - finely chopped

RECIPE:

1. Wash the lentils in luke warm water by placing into a large saucepan, filling with enough water to cover the lentils, gently swirling the contents around with your hand then pouring out the water and repeating this until the water starts to turn clear.

2. Allow the lentils to soak in clean luke warm water for about an hour - ensure your cover the saucepan with a lid

3. Once the lentils have soaked, pour out the water and fill the saucepan of lentils with boiling water, ensuring to leave a gap at the top of the saucepan as the water will froth. Add in your ginger, chilli, garlic, turmeric, coriander & cumin powder, salt and onions then stir gently to mix everything together.

4. Place the saucepan on the hob on medium heat and half cover with the lid. Allow the lentils to boil, stirring occasionally and removing any froth produced at the top. NOTE: keep an eye on this as if the heat is too high the contents will boil over so ensure it is at the right temperate.

5. The lentils should start to soak up some of the water and go soft so it starts to look mushy. If you feel the lentils still look whole and the water is disappearing, add in a little bit more boil water, however do not drown in water as you will not be draining any out so you don't want it to end up being too runny!

6. It should take around half an hour for the lentils to boil into a nice texture. Once you're happy with the consistency, remove from the hob and whisk the mixture. This will mix everything up really nicely and give your daal a nice soup like consistency.

7. Once you're happy with the consistency, place your mixture to one side, but in easy reach, then heat up the coconut oil in a separate saucepan on high heat. When the oil it hot (ensure you have the lid of the saucepan to hand at this point), add in your mustard seeds into the pool of oil and cover immediately. The mustard seeds will begin to pop so keep it covered until they've stopped, however make sure you don't leave them for too long as they will burn.

8. Once they've popped, remove from the heat (leave the heat on though) and add in 2 of your dried red chillies (break them in half so the flavour really comes out!). Allow the chillies to sizzles for about 10-20 seconds then add in your daal mixture. NOTE: the steam given off from the mustard seeds is strong so keep your ventilation on full blast for this bit. When you add the mixture it will also sizzle frantically so try to pour in with one hand and use your other hand to hold the saucepan lid over the area to stop it from splattering back at you!

9. Cover and give the saucepan a quick swivel (carefully and holding the lid on the saucepan so you don't spill anything!), then return to a low heat. Remove the lid and stir gently then add in 2-3 bay leaves and stir gently again. Add in your passata and stir again to mix it in well.

10. Sprinkle in some fresh coriander then cover and leave to simmer until piping hot. After this you may want to give it a quick taste to see if anything needs adding. If the flavour is too strong, try adding a bit more passata to neutralise, or if the consistency is a little bit thick, you can add in some water. However if you do add in anything, always mix well and leave to simmer so any additional ingredients have time to sink in.

11. Serve and enjoy!