I don’t eat lentils enough but when I do I want them to be packed with flavour – and this, I think, delivers in bucketloads!
This is my take on a gorgeous lentil and egg curry I ate as part of a feast a while ago. In some situations lentils, eggs and spinach might well conjur up images of punishing health food and indeed this is high in protein and fairly low in both fat and carbohydrate. The description of this dish at the feast was very unassuming, and to be honest we wouldn’t have picked it normally. But it arrived along with many other dishes and we tentatively tried it.
All I can say is, “wow”! From the first taste of the dahl we were smitten and while devouring it joyfully I made a mental note to myself never to prejudge foods before I give them a proper chance: I can only try!
There is a gentle level of spice running through, a sweetness from the fresh mango and the coconut, a lovely earthyness from the spinach and a subtle sourness from the lemon juice and mango powder (amchoor). It is a wholly comforting, warming and delicious dahl.
I have since made this dahl many times at home and I often make it along with other curries. My favourite way to eat this dahl is by scooping it up with flatbreads with a little chutney or relish spooned on top. I particularly recommend my spiced carrot chutney:
This is not a mushy dahl: it still has a little texture from the lentils which is merely a personal choice. However, if you prefer your dahls to be mushy you can simply keep cooking it for an extra 10-15 minutes or so, along with a splash of water to prevent it catching on the bottom of the pan.
You can also add other vegetables: chunks of carrots, sweet potato or butternut squash are particularly great to include – in which case, add them with the spices in step 3 of the recipe.
One of the joys of this dahl is it can be made a day or two before and simply reheated. It can also be frozen (without the eggs).
The spices!
There are a lot of spices in the recipe but they should be all easy to get hold of. The curry leaves and mustard seeds add such a glorious flavour and aroma to the final curry. However, if you don’t have them – or indeed the individual spices – you can simply omit them. In which case, instead of the mustard seeds, curry leaves, cumin, coriander, amchoor and chilli, use 2-3 tablespoons curry powder: this can be added at step 3 of the recipe.
If you don’t want to prepare a whole mango, you can use about 100g frozen mango chunks: no need to defrost them, just add them to the pan where they will defrost rapidly.
You can also use frozen chunks of spinach (around 6-8 or so) – I would defrost these, though, and squeeze out the excess water.
Recipe: mango, spinach & egg dahl -serves about 4
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
- 12 fresh or frozen curry leaves
- 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed or finely grated
- 2″ piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder (kashmiri chilli or other), or add more if you want it hotter
- 250g split red lentils, rinsed well
- 400ml tin coconut milk
- 1 small just ripe mango, peeled, stoned and cut into rough cubes
- 200-250g bag baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon toasted desiccated coconut*, optional
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 heaped teaspoon garam masala
- 4 eggs, hard-boiled (10-12 minutes or so)
To finish – any of:
- a little toasted desiccated coconut
- a few tablespoons natural yoghurt
- finely chopped red chilli (or grated from frozen)
- a little fresh coriander, finely chopped
- a few flatbreads, chapatis or naan
*add the desiccated coconut to a frying pan with no oil and heat gently, stirring from time to time until the tinges of the coconut turn brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.
(1) Add the oil to a pan and heat gently before adding the mustard seeds and the curry leaves. Leave them for about half a minute or so, or until the seeds start to pop. The curry leaves will curl up, crackle a bit and release a lovely aroma.
(2) Add the onions and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until they slightly turn golden-brown. Add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook for a couple of minutes, stirring from time to time.
(3) Add the cumin, coriander and chilli and cook gently for a couple of minutes.
(4) Add the split red lentils, the tin of coconut milk, 300ml water (or fill the coconut tin about 3/4 with water) and the toasted desiccated coconut (if using). Bring to the boil and with the heat on medium-low, simmer without the lid for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are softer but still retain a little bite.
(5) Add the mango, spinach, salt, garam masala and most of the lemon juice, stirring gently to incorporate. Simmer very gently for about 5 minutes.
(6) Taste and adjust seasoning: eg) add a little more salt or lemon juice if you feel the dahl needs it.
(7) Serve with a dollop of yoghurt, topped with the eggs along with a scattering of toasted coconut and chopped coriander, perhaps even with a little finely chopped chilli. Serve with flatbreads of choice and perhaps some chutneys on the side.
