Dahl

Source: About.com Dairy Free Cooking

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 T. sesame oil or, alternatively, olive oil (I used olive)
• 1 cup finely chopped white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I used garlic powder because out of fresh)
• 1 T. finely chopped fresh ginger (I used powder)
• 4 cups water or vegetable broth (I used vegetable broth)
• 1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 t. cumin
• 1 t. coriander (I used curry seasoning because the first ingredient is coriander and I didn't have any plain)
• 1 t. tumeric
• ¼ t. cardamom (didn't have; omitted)
• ¼ t. cinnamon
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper (I thought I didn't have cayenne---I do---so I used paprika instead)
• 1 t. salt, or to taste
• 2 T. tomato paste

 Directions:

1. In a 3-quart stockpot or other medium-sized soup pot, heat the sesame oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, about 6 minutes.
2. Stirring constantly, add the water or broth, lentils, spices and salt. Bring to a low boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are very tender.
3. Stir in the tomato paste until well combined. Cook several minutes more, or until the soup is desired temperature and consistency, adding more water to the dahl if needed. Serve hot with Dairy-free Cheesy Flatbread and garnish with a dollop of dairy-free soy yogurt if desired.

Notes:
When we lived in NY I was friends with two neighbors from India and they made me and Ryan some of the most amazing meals we've had in our life. I will never forgive myself for not having them teach me more (I did start using a pressure cooker because of one friend) while I had the opportunity. Anyway, I finally decided to go for it with red lentils when I found them at a natural food store I just went to for the first time. This soup was incredibly easy and turned out nice and thick and actually pretty mild. Perfect comfort food. Next time I might kick it up a notch with the spices though. Normally Dahl is made with Ghee (clarified butter = yummy fat) instead of broth, but I don't have any and won't in the near future since I'm off dairy (for a few reasons, mostly because I'm nursing E and there is some concern about allergy because she's started getting eczema). Anyway, I will definitely be keeping this in my repertoire.