spicy coconut dal

This creamy, spicy, hearty veggie fest of carrots, celery, sweet potato slow simmered with rich coconut milk, lentils, herbs and spices will make you never want to experiment with other dal recipes again. I started making this and haven’t looked back.

So yea- this one takes grand prize.

Don’t worry if you don’t have all the spices in the list below - throw in what you can and substitute more of the spices you love and have to make up for the spices you don’t.

Great to serve at large gatherings where you want to have all your food prepped beforehand, too. Crowd pleaser, I promise.

Love serving this over my ‘best rice’ rice (find recipe under GRAINS).

INGREDIENTS

2 TBSP GHEE (or cooking oil of your choice)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp asoefatida (optional- can substitute 1 clove garlic minced)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp nigella seeds (optional - if you don’t have, add an extra 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp ajwain (optional)

1/2 - 1 tsp crushed red pepper

2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 tsp salt, divided

3 large carrots, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

4 large celery stalks, cleaned and chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

1 small sweet potato, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

1 cup SPROUTED mung dal, rinsed (preferred) OR 1 cup mung dal, soaked overnight and cooked for an hour on stove and strained.

I highly suggest SPROUTED mung dal for this recipe- it makes it so much more approachable and easy. You can find at Whole Foods or Wegmans in the grain section. If you only have regular mung beans you will need to soak overnight and then cook the beans for an hour in water before adding to this recipe… So best to use sprouted if possible.

2 tbsp cilantro, rinsed and chopped

2 tbsp parsley, rinsed and chopped

1 can full fat coconut milk

3 cups filtered water

DIRECTIONS

Heat ghee over low heat in a large dutch oven pot. Add turmeric and asoefatida and let them bloom for 20 seconds or so.

Start spooning in all the additional spices - cumin, fennel, nigella, mustard seeds, ajwain, and crushed red pepper, giving them all a moment to integrate into the ghee. Make sure to SMELL this magic happening in the pot. It is glorious.

Add chopped ginger, and allow it to crisp. Around 1 minute. Don’t let any of this burn.

Add onions and 1 tsp salt to pot. Allow onions to soften, stirring often. Around 5 minutes.

Add carrot - and continue to stir, allowing the carrots to slightly soften, about 2-3 minutes.

Add celery - and same thing. 2-3 minutes of softening and stirring. Are you smelling this loveliness? Get your nose in there.

Add sweet potatoes - and same thing. 2-3 minutes, stir and soften.

Add dal, cilantro and parsley. Fold in and stir for another few minutes.

Add coconut milk, water, and the remaining 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam from the top of the dal if you can (it helps to make the lentils more digestible)

Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, take top off and let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes (feel free to add a handful of spinach to the soup at this stage if you want a little more green in the dish)

Serve with lime wedges and chopped cilantro. Also- this is great served over white basmati rice. My ‘best rice’ rice is my personal favorite. Recipe under GRAINS.

Enjoy!