Recipe: Indian Daal

At a trip to the Bulk Barn some mung beans caught my eye - I bought a cup or two to try a new experiment - Indian Daal. I used half french lentils and half mung beans in my recipe. I soaked about a cup of each together for about 24 hours which resulted in about 4 cups. I also had some thai chilis and shallots lying around I was intending to use for a curry. I used Indian ghee in my recipe but butter would also work just fine. Not pictured here is the coconut milk and fresh cilantro I added at the last minute to break up the spice a bit.

On Chef Michael's suggestion I store my ginger int he freezer and then use a microplane to mince the frozen ginger. The garlic, shallots and chilis I minced with my favourite extra-sharp Henckels knife (freshly sharpened!).

The next step is to saute the all the ingredients except the beans. I always heat up the pot for a few minutes so the ingredients don't stick. I got a little over-zealous this time though and ended up burning some of the spices. It gave the daal a bit of a nice smokey taste so I guess it was a bit of a happy accident. After the shallots are softened add the beans and water and simmer for about 30 minutes. I usually test out a few beans at the 20 minute mark to see if they need more time. In my case I ended up adding two more cups of water on top of the initial four. The beans and lentils should be soft like rice - lentils for daal are typically quite mushy (they're better that way anyway!). 

After they've reached what you deem to be the optimal consistency you can add a can of coconut milk and fresh chopped cilantro to taste and simmer to heat the coconut milk through. Serve over basmati rice and/or with naan. I've also taken to using the leftover daal as a vegetarian burrito filling for lunch. Just add some cheese, spinach and spicy chipotle hummus and you've got an impressive office lunch (it's been my lunch for the past two weeks - I think I need to try something new soon!).

Indian Daal (or Vegetarian Burrito Filling) Ingredients: 3 Shallots minced 2 Garlic cloves minced 2 Tbsp ginger minced 2 Tbsp Cumin 2 Tbsp Tumeric 1 Tsp Cayenne (to taste) 1 Cup each dry lentils (I prefer French) and mung beans soaked in 4 cups of water for at least 4 hours  4-6 Cups Water 1 Small can tomato paste A handful of chopped coriander 1 Can coconut milk Directions: Rince soaked beans and set aside. Heat up a large pot to low heat and add ghee. Saute the shallots and spices until softened. Add the beans and 4 cups of water and simmer for 20 minutes on medium heat. Test out the lentils and add 2 more cups of water if necessary. Add the coconut milk and coriander and cook for 5-10 minutes. Serve over basmati rice or naan or use as a burrito filling.