Takes about 20 minutes. Adapted from a recipe by Tieghan Gerard who lives not far from us in Silverthorne. She is a super famous chef now with several best selling cookbooks and a great blog at Half Baked Harvest. Everything she cooks looks great and her recipes are representative of modern Colorado cooking. She does the same recipe as the one below but omits the sweet potatoes and spinach. This is a simplified panchmel dal recipe which is a basic Indian side dish eaten with almost every meal, so feel free to experiment with all different kinds of dal and spices.
▢2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
▢1/2 yellow onion, chopped
▢1 inch fresh ginger, grated
▢2 cloves garlic, minced
▢2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (optional)
▢1-2 tablespoon yellow curry powder (or 1 T. garam masala, 2 t. ground turmeric, 1 t. ground cumin, 1 t. fresh ground pepper)
▢1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to taste
▢4 cups vegetable broth (or 2 bullion cubes and 4 c. water)
▢3/4 cup dried red lentils (or any kind(s) of dal)
▢kosher salt
▢1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
▢2 cups baby spinach
▢2 cups cooked basmati rice (or any kind)
▢1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for serving
▢fresh Naan, for serving
Instructions
STOVE-TOP
1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add the ginger, garlic, and sweet potatoes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne and cook another minute.
2. Add the broth and lentils. Season generously with salt. Bring the mix to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are soft and the sweet potatoes tender.
3. Stir in the coconut milk and spinach, cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro.
4. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and ladle the soup overtop. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with Naan on the side. Enjoy!