Daal & rice

Approx 45 min. Serves 4-6

This is a simple, tasty, vegan meal - and if your spice rack is already well-stocked, then it's also pretty inexpensive. The better-quality coconut milk will cost a bit more, but to me has a much better consistency and flavour.

At one point, this was pretty close to a once-a-week meal for me, until I had to stop eating pulses and legumes due to some gut issues. Now that's getting treated, however, so I get to make & eat this dish again!

I'm pretty sure this was originally based off a Madhur Jaffrey recipe; these days I just wing it. So treat the amounts as rough guidelines.

Ingredients

• 1 cup / 250ml red lentils, thoroughly rinsed & drained

• 3 cups boiling water

• 1 can (350ml) good quality coconut milk (i.e. without thickeners/gums, if possible)

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced

• 1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

• 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste

• 3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds

• 1 1/4 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 1/4 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp turmeric powder

• 1/4 tsp cayenne powder

• 1/4 cup dried methi (fenugreek) leaves

• 1 or 2 green cardamom pods

• salt

• cooking oil (e.g. canola, light olive oil)

For the rice:

• 1 cup basmati rice, washed

• 1 green cardamom pod

• 2 whole cloves

• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Get prepped: slice the onion, mince the garlic and ginger. Get the water boiling in a kettle. Rinse the lentils well in a sieve under running water while stirring with your hand. The water draining off will look quite cloudy. Once it starts getting less cloudy, set aside to drain.

2. Grab the three cardamom pods, and crack each one open slightly by placing your knife blade flat on top of it, then gently bopping it with your fist.

3. Place a heavy pot over medium heat and add the mustard seeds.

4. Once the seeds start to crackle & pop a little bit, add 1-2 tbsp oil, then add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. Cook gently for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn heat down if necessary to keep the spices from burning. Add a little oil if the mixture seems dry.

5. Add sliced onions, ginger, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook gently for a couple of minutes, still stirring frequently. Then add the garlic and continue cooking for a minute or so, until it starts to soften. Add the methi leaves and cardamom pod(s).

6. Add lentils, stir quickly, and immediately add around 2 cups of boiling water and the tomato paste. Bring to a moderate simmer, stir a bit to make sure there aren't lentils stuck to the bottom of the pot, and cover.

7. While that's simmering, get the rice going: put the rice in a small pot, cover with cold water, and swish your hand around for 30 seconds or so in the rice to wash off the excess starches. Drain the water, then repeat that process once or twice.

8. Once you've washed off most of the starch, cover the rice with cold water. How much water? You want to put just enough that if you touch the top of the rice with your fingertip, the water comes up to just below your first knuckle. Add 1 tsp salt, 2 cloves, and a cardamom pod, cover, and place over high heat.

Keep an eye on it while you do the next steps - once it gets to a full boil you need to immediately turn the heat down to medium-low (3-4 on my stove). Keep it covered as much as possible, and don't stir it.

9. By now the lentils will hopefully have started getting fairly soft. Add more water if necessary - the consistency should be like a thick soup at this point. If the lentils are still crunchy or hard, keep cooking them a little longer.

10. Once the lentils are soft, add the coconut milk and another 1/2 tsp salt, bring to a very gentle simmer, then turn the heat down to low and let it stew a bit, covered.

11. Check on the rice. Once it looks like the water has been mostly absorbed and you can't hear bubbling, tip the pot to see if there's still any water left.

If the water is gone: take the pot off the heat and leave it covered for a couple of minutes.

If there's still a tiny bit of water: turn the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Give it another minute or two, or until the water is absorbed. Then turn off the heat, let it sit covered for a couple minutes.

After letting it sit for a bit, pick out the cloves and cardamom pod, and fluff the rice with a fork. Cover again until the daal is ready.

12. Check the daal for consistency and seasoning, and add a little water and/or salt if necessary. Sometimes I'll also add a half-cup of frozen peas for a little variation in flavour & texture.

13. Serve with some mixed Indian pickle/achar, mango pickle, mango or tamarind chutney, hot sauce, etc. I'm addicted to a brand of Indian pickle called Mother's - definitely an acquired taste, though ;)