Check out this delicious red lentil dahl packed full of flavour, with the addition of roasted kale and crispy paneer. Served with a tahini and honey, kale dressing. Absolutely yummy!
Benefits of Lentils
Dahl (also know as Dal, Daal, Dhal) is a great way to incorporate lentils into your diet. Lentils are a great source of plant based protein and are also low in fat. Because of the high protein content, lentils will keep you fuller for longer. They supply energy over a longer period of time which helps to keep your blood sugar levels in check. Furthermore, lentils are an excellent source of fibre and encourage good gut bacteria which means it can be very beneficial to your digestive health. As with other superfoods, lentils also boast a large amount of antioxidants and have an anti-inflammatory effects which can help fight against heart disease and even cancerous cells.
In short, lentils are a great source of protein and can help lower blood pressure and benefit digestive health.
How to Make a Dahl
In this recipe, I have used red split lentils which do not require soaking before cooking. These are my favourite lentils to use and they are so easy to make a tasty dish with. A dahl is basically a lentil stew, so all you need to do is add some liquid for the lentils to simmer in and some spices to add some flavour et voila… you have a dahl. It is an excellent meal to make when you want something thats easy to cook and also nutritious.
Spice, Spice & more Spice
If you want to add some more heat to this dish then try adding in some chilli flakes and/or fresh chilli. This would be a great warming dish for a cold night or if you just want to spice things up a bit. Additionally, if you want to make this even more nutritious, you could even add some more vegetables. If you choose this option, then I would also recommend adding a little more water into the pan to compensate.
You could also swap out the paneer for more vegetables if you don’t have it available or if you want a vegan option. A substitute for the paneer could simply be a vegan paneer style cheese or you could try using tofu. If you wanted to substitute using the tofu, you can cook it in exactly the same way. Either, let it simmer in the dahl if you want a softer texture, this will soak up all of the dahl spices. Or you can fry until crispy as we do with the paneer.
I would definitely recommend trying this with the crispy paneer if you haven’t already. Paneer is a widely used cheese in Indian cooking and compliments dahls and curries perfectly. Paneer is also a great source of antioxidants and other nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, magnesium and phosphorus. It is great for the immune system and digestive system. It contains a good amount of healthy fats and it is also high in protein too. This is why I think it makes a great addition to a dahl and other dishes.
How to Cook the Paneer
You can let the paneer simmer in the dahl with the lentils. This will allow it to soak up all that amazing flavour. Alternatively, if you want to add a bit of texture, you can crisp it up in the frying pan. Take the paneer and cut into 1cm cubes. Place these cubes in some olive oil and spice and fry until crispy on all sides. Make sure to turn the cubes regularly in the pan so it doesn’t stick. In this recipe, I have included paprika as a the paneer spice. Paprika is amazing but feel free to use whatever spice you want to. I think Turmeric would also make a good choice but I use turmeric for everything so pick something you want.
If you want to make this recipe vegan then you would also need to swap out the honey as well as the paneer. Instead of honey, you could use maple syrup or a little bit of sugar mixed into the water instead.
Crispy Kale
In this recipe we have kale in two different formats. I have used curly kale as it is what I had in my fridge, however you could use another variant. First of all we have the crispy kale on the side which adds a different texture and flavour to the rest of the dish. Because, we are roasting the kale, this will remove any chewiness and I suggest that you remove any large stalks before roasting. Stalks will take a longer time to roast compared to some of the small leaves. Please note that the roasting time might differ for other types of kale. Just keep an eye on the oven and make sure to roast until it is crispy and dry.
Kale Dressing
In addition to the crispy kale leaves we also have a kale dressing which is poured on at the end to serve. This uses some of the roasted kale, as well as tahini, honey, lime juice, coriander and a little bit of water. All of this is placed in a food processor or blender and blitzed together. We then take the contents of the blender and push then through a sieve to remove any lumps (big and small) to leave only a runny dressing. If you need to add more water then I would suggest doing this using a teaspoon or something similar to make sure you don’t accidentally add too much.
As you can see the kale dressing provides a beautiful green colour to contrast with the rest of the dahl. The bitterness of the kale is balanced out by the honey and the acidity of the lime juice. Yummy! I think this dahl is best served with a flat bread but if you want to try something new then you could also try it with my delicious garlic bread recipe.
Paneer and Kale Dahl
Ingredients
- 250 g Red Split Lentils
- 200-250 g Paneer
- 75g Kale (I used Curly Kale but any type will also be fine, try to use mainly leave and remove any chunky stalks)
- 400 ml Coconut Milk
- 400 ml Vegetable Stock
- 4 tbsp Tomato Purée
- 2 Large Onions
- 1 large chunk Fresh Ginger approximately 1 inch squared
- 3 Cloves Garlic Large
- 1 Large handful Freshly Chopped Coriander Aka Cilantro
- 1 tsp Coconut Oil
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 tsp Turmeric
- 2 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 2 tsp Ground Coriander
- 3 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Paprika
- Salt
Extras for the Kale Dressing
- ½ Lime
- 1 tsp Tahini
- 1 tsp Honey use sugar and water or maple syrup as a vegan alternative
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200° C
- Melt half the coconut oil in a frying pan and once the oil is hot, finely chop the onions and add to the pan, along with a large pinch of salt. Fry until soft or for 10-15 minutes.
- In a large dish, toss the kale in half the olive oil, the cumin seeds and the other half of the turmeric. Try and use a large dish so that the kale is not layered up. Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until the kale is browning and crispy. Once cooked, leave to cool.
- Finely chop or grate the ginger and add to the onions, along with the crushed garlic and stir evenly. Once mixed, add the ground coriander, half the turmeric and the tomato purée and mix again, leave for 5 minutes.
- In the frying pan, add the lentils, stock, garam masala and coconut milk (add extra water to the empty coconut milk tin and add this into the pan as well). Add a large pinch of fresh coriander and stir. This can be left to simmer for 20 minutes, make sure to keep stirring regularly and add any extra water if needed.
- Cut the paneer in cm cubes and toss in the olive oil and paprika. In a separate frying pan, fry the paneer until crispy on all sides, making sure to turn regularly.
- Take 1/3 of the crispy kale, the juice from ½ lime, a large pinch of the fresh coriander, the tahini, honey and place in a food processor along with 1 tablespoon of water and blitz for a couple of minutes. Don't worry that this is lumpy, place a sieve on top of a jug and tip everything from the blender into the sieve and use a teaspoon to push it through until there is no more liquid.
- Once cooked, serve the dahl hot with the crispy kale on the side. Drizzle the kale dressing over the dahl and garnish with the rest of the coriander. Best served hot with your favourite flatbreads.
