Chickpea Dal
By OcadoLife
Published on 18 April 2022
Not only is dal a staple of South Asian food, it’s so popular in this country that there’s a whole festival devoted to it. Here Lisa Faulkner has shared her niece Lola’s recipe for feeding a house full of hungry uni students using just ingredients from the cupboard and freezer – with a versatile chickpea dal. Apart from a selection of spices, onion and garlic, the dal is mostly chickpeas, red lentils, coconut milk, a stock cube, and frozen spinach; you can sprinkle coriander leaves on the top if you want. Delicious and easy to prepare, and with an incredibly low price per portion, you don’t have to be a student to enjoy this vegan dish. Looking for more Indian recipes? Look no further.Time and servings
40 minsTotal time
4Servings
5 minsPrep time
35 minsCooking time
Ingredients
- 1 drizzle of vegetable oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic clove, grated
- 2 tsp of ground cumin
- 2 tsp of ground coriander
- 2 tsp of ground ginger
- 1 tsp of ground turmeric
- 1 tsp of chilli powder
- 1 tsp of chilli flakes
- 400 g of coconut milk
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 150 g of baby spinach
- 1 handful of coriander, chopped (optional)
- 400 g of chickpeas, drained
- 300 g of red lentils, rinsed
Method
Step 1
Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan and add the onion. Cook for 7-8 mins, until lovely and soft. Add all the spices with a splash of water and let them cook for 1-2 mins, until fragrant. Add the garlic; cook for a few mins, then add the coconut milk. Stir, add the chickpeas and cook for 1 min.Step 2
Add the lentils and slowly pour in 750ml water, stirring constantly. Crumble in the stock cube and let the dal bubble for about 20 mins, stirring regularly.Step 3
Stir through the spinach, until wilted. Serve, sprinkled with coriander, if using, with rice if you like.