SPINACH AND LEMON DAL
Darling, it’s dal again. That’s right. When I’m looking for nutritious, comforting, easy to digest wholesome vegetarian food that’s super affordable and super easy to cook, this is where I come to again and again.
This one is tangy and umami. I love it. The trick for a quick weeknight supper like this is to get the mung dal on the boil the minute you walk in. Since it only takes 30 minutes to cook, much of which is time left alone to simmer, it’s an easy one for breakfast too, just get the mung dal on as soon as you wake up, then make the tarka when you’re ready. Or just throw everything into the slow cooker on low and let it do it’s thing while you work or sleep.
Mung dal is the major player in Ayurveda for many reasons, including being the easiest to digest and quick to cook, though you can also use red split lentils, which are slightly easier to find in the shops. Then while that’s cooking — it needs a good 20 to 25-minute head start — you can prep the rest, gathering the spices, rinsing the spinach and chopping your ginger. If you’ve thought ahead, soaking the mung dal while you are at work can knock another 10 minutes off the cook time. This method, rather than a one-pot where you sauté your aromatics and spices first and then cook the dal in the same pot, saves time and also results in a punchier flavour as the spices are freshly captured rather than left to mellow with the dal as it cooks.
In this recipe I went for black cumin — slightly fancier than the usual cumin seeds in that it’s not as common — it differs in flavour with a harsher, more bitter taste that's more common in northern and western Indian cuisine. I’ve tried with the usual cumin and it works just as beautifully — just different, ya know? I love using cumin, a fragrant spice with a rich history: it was used by the ancient Egyptians to preserve bodies for mummification (!), has been used by East Indians for millennia to support digestion, and was used by the ancient Romans as both a flavour-enhancer and a medicine.
Ginger-wise, I like fresh and I love a hit of it when I find a nibble of it in my bowl of dal. If you know you like ginger, then be generous with it! If you’re less of a fan, go smaller. Texture-wise, we're most definitely not looking for al dente when we eat lentils, and well cooked split dals do not keep their shape (look for puy or beluga lentils if that's what you want — you’ll find I use these in more salad-style dishes), but you can make this as soupy or as stodgy as you like. Soupier makes a lighter supper and a nourishing breakfast. Also great over rice with a bit more seasoning.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 3-4
1¼ cup mung dal*
½ leek, sliced
4 cups water
2 inches fresh ginger, finely sliced
100g baby spinach, washed**
2 tbsp ghee, coconut oil or your favourite cooking oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground coriander
1 stock cube (Kallo), crushed
Big pinch asafoetida
Fresh lemon
Sea salt to taste if needed
METHOD
Rinse the dal and add to a pot with the water. Bring to the boil, stir once and then reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes, lid on. Skim off some of the foam every now and then if you like — sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.
In another pot, heat the ghee on medium and add the ginger, mustard seeds and black cumin as it starts to sizzle. Add the sliced leek and sauté for a few minutes. Add a little more ghee if it starts sticking. Add the ground cinnamon and ground coriander and continue sautéing for a few minutes.
When the leek starts to soften, pour in the dal (or vice versa depending on which is the bigger pot) and stir in the baby spinach, asafoetida and stock cube.
Allow to simmer for another 5 minutes, making sure the dal is very tender and cooked to your liking, adding more water if you want it soupier and a bit of salt if it needs seasoning.
Stir in a squeeze of lemon to taste and serve.
East by West tips:
*Soak the mung dal first for even better digestion.
Sub red split lentils, available in most supermarkets, if you can’t find mung dal which is best found in Asian groceries.
Mung beans (also very available in most supermarkets) can also be used — make sure you soak overnight/8 hours first for better digestion and a quicker cook.
Cook the dal until it reaches a consistency that is thinner than what is desired, because it will thicken further after cooking.
** if using normal spinach, cabbage or other greens, these will require a longer cooking time so add when you add the dal.