Making vegan dhal is easy – think plant-based deliciousness! If you follow a whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet, saute the onions, herbs and spices in water or a dash of vegetable broth.
Many thanks to Caro Feely of Chateau Feely in Bordeaux for providing this recipe. You can listen to Caro’s podcast interview here where she clues us in on the joys and challenges of owning a winery in Bordeaux. And if you’d like to see her original recipe (because yes, I’ve amended hers a little), read it here.
Caro recommended Sémillon to pair with this dish – if you can find it, great! I found a Sémillon/Reisling blend which worked really well too.
Ingredients
- 250 g red lentils
- 400 g can coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp turmeric
- approx 3 cups of water (the water plus the coconut milk needs to be 3x the amount of lentils – if you like it creamier, add more water)
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- 2 large onions chopped fine
- 4 garlic cloves finely minced (don’t be afraid of the garlic – I threw in more than 4 and was really happy that I did!)
- 5 cm piece ginger grated finely
- 1 Tbsp each ground cumin, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, cardamom pods
- 1 tsp each chili powder and black pepper
- Optional – fresh tomatoes (I threw in several handfuls of cherry tomatoes from my garden)
Method
- Place the lentils, coconut milk and turmeric in a pot and bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 mins. (I threw in the cherry tomatoes at this step.)
- In the meantime, heat the oil in a casserole dish then add onions, garlic, ginger and spices (always stirring) until fragrant, about 4-5 mins.
- Mix into the cooked lentils.
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