This green lentil dal with quick naan bread is so yum! It really is a quick and easy meal to make in under an hour, especially as it's tinned green lentils that are used for the dal. We both love lentils and naan bread, so to be able to make this for a mid-week meal so quickly and to have leftovers for lunch or another evening meal is great.
I've made a couple of different dals before, using red lentils, however, I'd been in the supermarket and was stocking up on different cans of beans and spotted the cans of green lentils too. I decided I'd take a couple to try out as I'd seen a few recipes where they were used...pasta dishes and salads.
David did some 'googling' and found this recipe on the BBC food website, which we've adapted ever so slightly.
Enjoy it as a meal on its own or as part of a bigger selection of Indian dishes.
Try it out...you won't be disappointed!
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Ingredients
For the green lentil dal:
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 garlic cloves finely grated
- 1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 5 cm piece fresh root ginger peeled and finely grated
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 5 tsp ground turmeric
- 5 tsp sea salt
- 2 x 400g cans green lentils drained and rinsed
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 1 vegetable stock cube crumbled (a stock pot will work too)
- 25g fresh coriander roughly chopped
- handful of spinach (optional)
- mango chutney to serve
For the quick naan breads:
- 300g self-raising flour plus extra for dusting
- 0.75 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 175g fat free Greek style plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
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Instructions
- For the dal, heat the oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the cumin seeds and chilli flakes and fry for 20 seconds, or until the seeds start to pop.
- Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until just softened. Add the garlic, ginger, ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt and cook for 1 minute.
- Then add the lentils, tomatoes, stock cube or pot and 400ml of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Optional - before switching the heat off add a handful of spinach and stir until wilted. We added this as we had a small amount of spinach left in a bag in the fridge.
- Meanwhile, for the naan bread, put the flour, salt and sesame seeds into a large bowl and mix well. Make a well in the centre and add the yogurt and 75ml of cold water. Mix together to form a soft dough.
- Put the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it forms a smooth dough. Divide it into 6 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten each ball gently using the palm of your hand, then roll them out to 5 mm thick circles.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat. Add 2 of the naan circles and cook them for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and puffed up. Repeat with the remaining naans, keeping the cooked naans warm in a very low oven.
- Add the coriander to the dal and stir. Serve with the naan bread and some spicy mango chutney – yum, this is really delicious!
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Green Lentil Dal with Quick Naan Breads
Ingredients
For the green lentil dal:
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 garlic cloves finely grated
- 1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 5 cm piece fresh root ginger peeled and finely grated
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
- 0.5 tsp sea salt
- 2 x 400g cans green lentils drained and rinsed
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
- 1 vegetable stock cube crumbled (a stock pot will work too)
- 25 g fresh coriander roughly chopped
- handful of spinach optional
- mango chutney to serve
For the quick naan breads:
- 300g self-raising flour plus extra for dusting
- 0.75 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 175g fat free Greek style plain yoghurt
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
Instructions
- For the dal, heat the oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the cumin seeds and chilli flakes and fry for 20 seconds, or until the seeds start to pop.
- Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until just softened. Add the garlic, ginger, ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt and cook for 1 minute.
- Then add the lentils, tomatoes, stock cube or pot and 400ml of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Optional - before switching the heat off add a handful of spinach and stir until wilted. We added this as we had a small amount of spinach left in a bag in the fridge.
- Meanwhile, for the naan bread, put the flour, salt, and sesame seeds into a large bowl and mix well. Make a well in the centre and add the yogurt and 75ml of cold water. Mix together to form a soft dough.
- Put the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it forms a smooth dough. Divide it into 6 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Flatten each ball gently using the palm of your hand, then roll them out to 5 mm thick circles.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat. Add 2 of the naan circles and cook them for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and puffed up. Repeat with the remaining naans, keeping the cooked naans warm in a very low oven.
- Add the coriander to the dal and stir. Serve with the naan bread and some spicy mango chutney – yum, this is really delicious!
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