SPINACH DHAL LENTIL STEW

Ingredients A

300 g dried yellow, brown or green split peas rinsed until the water runs clear

4 cups water

¾ tsp ground turmeric

1 flat tsp each fenugreek, fennel and cumin seeds

Pinch of asafoetida

1 tsp each fresh garlic and ginger paste

1 green chilli, split in half

1 stalk curry leaf

Pinch of salt

400 g frozen (Logan’s Loose Leaf Chopped Spinach) or fresh spinach, washed and finely chopped

Seasoning Ingredients B

2 tbsp oil or ghee

2 tsp black mustard seed

2-3 dry chillies – broken

¼ tsp asafoetida

1 heaped tsp Latasha’s Coriander Curry Paste

1 tbsp water

1-2 ripe tomatoes, diced

1 green chilli, sliced in rounds

1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Place washed lentils and 4 cups water into a deep pot with the rest of Ingredients A.
2. Stir well and bring to the boil. Then cover pan with a lid and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for 45 minutes. Then add the spinach into the lentils, and stir gently to mix well.  Add some salt.
3. When the lentils and spinach have cooked through, remove the pan from the heat and mash slightly to break down some of the lentils. Set the mixture aside to thicken.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil/ghee from  Seasoning Ingredients Bin a fry pan over a medium heat. Add the first three ingredients, one at a time, and fry for a minute until fragrant. Then add LK Coriander Curry Paste and water to the pan and stir well to combine. Add in the tomatoes, chillies and lemon juice and cook until softened. Add this mixture to the cooked spinach lentils, and season with salt to taste. Add more boiled water if the Dahl is too thick. Coconut milk can also be added to sweeten the Dahl.