Festival Recipe
Red lentil tarka dal with organic pumpkin & kale
Recipe by SINÉAD MOCLAIR
- Serves4
Ingredients
- 250g red lentils
- sunflower oil
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 6 cm piece of ginger, finely grated
- 1 small red chilli, finely chopped
- small bunch coriander, leaves picked and stalks finely chopped
- 1.5 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Salt
- Chilli flakes
- small bunch kale (or chard or spinach), stalks removed and roughly chopped
- small pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into bitesized chunks
Method
First get the dal base on. Put 2tbsp of the oil into a deep, lidded saucepan on a medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for 10 -15 minutes, or until the onion is golden and completely cooked. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and coriander stalks and cook for a further 5 minutes before adding the garam masala. Allow the spice to cook out for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly. If the mixture looks like its catching, add a drop of water to prevent it burning. Once the spices have been cooked off you can turn off the heat.
While the onion is cooking, get the pumpkin into the oven to roast: arrange the pumpkin chunks on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and season with salt and a pinch of chilli flakes. Put into a preheated oven at 190C and cook for about 20-25 minutes until tender and beginning to caramelise around the edges.
In a sieve, rinse the lentils until the water runs clear, then drain and put into a deep, lidded saucepan. Add 600ml of cold water, ½ tsp turmeric and a generous pinch of salt. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, then cover with the lid and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until the lentils are cooked through but still holding their shape. Strain off any excess water making sure to retain a cupful or so.
Add the dal base to the cooked lentils and stir it through.
Now make the tarka. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat and, when it’s hot, add the cumin seeds and curry leaves. When the leaves crisp up and the seeds crackle, which should happen within the first minute, take the tarka off the heat and pour into the dal. Stir to mix. Taste the dal and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Also check that the consistency of your dal is to your liking, adding more of the lentil cooking water if it’s too thick.
Put the dal back on a medium heat and add the roasted pumpkin chunks and the chopped kale. Allow to cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
Serve your dal with basmati rice and garnish with some pickled red onions, raita, kachumber and fresh coriander.
