Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Dal Makhni


I love easy and simple lentil dishes like this. They're great for healthy and filling weeknight meals. E wasn't a huge fan of these lentils, but I liked the flavour from the cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom, garlic and ginger. Paired with rice or quinoa and some steamed broccoli and cauliflower, or roasted beets and carrots, it's a perfect meal for me.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pumpkin Lentil Curry
Pink Beans with Cardamom Yogurt Sauce
Spicy Indian Chickpeas/Chana Masala
Indian Stir Fried Cabbage

Dal Makhni
Adapted from Vegan Yum Yum

Serves 4 (with rice and vegetables)

1 cup green lentils
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves
1" piece of cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
2 green cardamom pods
2 tsp minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups tomatoes, diced
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup cashews
2/3 cup water

In a pot, bring the lentils and 2 cups water to a boil. Simmer until tender, about 40 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, cooking until caramelized, being careful not to burn. Add the cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cardamom pods and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lentils.

Blend the cashews in a blender, slowly adding the 2/3 cup water until a rich cream forms. Stir this cream into the lentils. If you want to be fancy, reserve some of the sauce to drizzle over top for serving.

10 comments:

kimberleyblue said...

Oh, I love lentil dishes too! They're always so satisfying...finally, a healthy comfort dish. I like how creamy this looks.

Hannah said...

Excellent! It's so hard to find decent vegan versions of this particular dahl, so I've gotta try it... Pretty much everything from Vegan Yum Yum is a keeper, so I have high hopes.

Ricki said...

How I love dal!! Thanks for the reminder that I need to make it again. . . sounds like a great recipe. :)

janet @ the taste space said...

I love savoury bean dishes! Was it the creaminess that E didn't like? It reminds me alot of the dal bhat R and I love to make. It isn't creamy (no cashews or tomatoes) but it has the cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and garlic, etc. So simple yet so good! :)

Eileen said...

We've totally been telling ourselves that we need to learn some good dal recipes, and this sounds perfect! I'm kind of surprised to see the cashews in a dal, and am super curious to see how they work out. :)

Joanne said...

the combination of spices in this makes it an instant love for me!

Amee said...

wow!! impressive! if E didn't like these, try some of the lentils from the indian store if you find one. They are Black Gram lentils. they have a hearty flavorful core, but the beans are tiny... I really like them! I like that you paired it with Quinoa!

Mel said...

Dal makhani is one of my favourite dals but I haven't tried the recipe from Vegan Yum Yum as it didn't sound spicy enough for my taste. I always make it with black lentils and a few kidney beans. I love how you have served it with quinoa.

Leng said...

I love lentils!

eatme_delicious said...

E says he didn't like it because it wasn't flavourful enough, but I thought it was!