Over the duration of lockdown cooking for the team at VC became my source of comfort. For the first couple of weeks we were all in a bit of a daze wondering what was happening with the world. Dhal became the simple answer to a nutritious lunch, made in large quantities to feed us either on the run or in front of the 1pm news bulletin.
As a child the moment my mother mentioned split peas or lentils, I threw a wobbly at the idea and various dismissive expressions that I watch children do now and think “just you wait, one day you’ll love it!”
From India to the West Indies, the dish is made from lentils or split pulses. Literally translated from Sanskrit it means “to split” and has been a staple in many nations around the world. During lockdown Chef and Author Sabrina Gahyour kept me entertained on her instagram feed with simple four ingredient recipes she was making in her kitchen with her camera shy mum. Green lentils, curry powder, tomato puree, onion and water – Dhal, so easy!
I make ours from split peas. We have bags in the cupboard and for a few $’s it’s a great value meal. It’s a great recipe to bung in a pressure cooker or slow cooker too.
2 cups of split peas (washed in a sieve to remove all the dust)
One onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1inch ginger root, skin removed and grated (or 1tbsp ground ginger if you don’t have fresh)
2 tbsp curry powder
2tbsp oil
1tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp fresh chopped chilli.
6 cups of chicken / vegetable stock
Salt and Pepper to taste
Rinse the split peas well until the water runs clear.
Heat a large pan and add the oil.
Gently fry the onion and garlic until translucent.
If you have fresh ginger add it now and fry until fragrant.
If you are using ginger powder add to the curry powder and add to the pan. Fry gently until you can smell the aroma of the curry powder.
Add your tomato puree and mix, followed by the split peas and stock. Bring up to the boil and drop to a simmer stirring regularly for 45 minutes if soaked to 90 minutes if straight from the packet.
If you are cooking this in a slow cooker you probably want to leave it cooking for 5 hours.
Of course the quickest way to make this is with a couple of cans of lentils!
Season the dhal when the peas are soft and serve with chopped chilli and flat breads.
Extra flavours you can add during cooking:
Cardamon, cumin, garam masala, fresh coriander, fresh tomatoes, grated vegetables, cauliflower, peas. Tart it up with fresh coriander, fried curry leaves and a dollop of yoghurt.
