The Best Darn Dahl!
Holy moly… I think this dahl is my best one yet! Having a little rating system with my boyfriend with each new meal that I make for dinner (Bad, Ok, Decent, Good, Very Good, Great, Very Great & Excellent) this is the only one so far that he’s rated “excellent!,” and he’s a pretty harsh critic… so take his word for it! Especially because he makes his own dahl for us from time to time… and both of us thought that nobody could ever beat his. Ha… look at that!
Anyway, this dish truly is a winner, and like most of the recipes that I’ve posted on here (and will continue to post) you can switch it up with whatever veggies you might have laying around the kitchen. Carrots, potato, sweet potato and peas all work really great in this dish! So have some fun with it.
I also love to have dahl over a big bowl of steamy rice, but others prefer to have it with naan or another type of toasted bread. Both are great options, but I would definitely recommend serving it with one of the two for a more balanced, hearty meal.
Servings: 4 large servings | Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
1 large Vidalia Onion (chopped)
1 large eggplant (chopped and salted for at least 15 min before cooking)
1 pack of shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
1 serrano pepper (finely sliced)
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
1-inch piece of ginger (minced)
1 bunch of cilantro (finely chopped)
3 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 cup of red lentils
several cups of water
dried turmeric
dried cumin
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
lemon juice
Directions
Place your chopped eggplant chunks in a separate bowl and cover the chunks with a decent handful of salt, making sure each piece is at least partially salted. It’s pretty important that the eggplant is pre-salted before cooking as eggplant can tend to be rubbery without doing so. Pre-salting will help bring out the eggplant’s natural flavors and juices, so try not to forget this step! Let sit for about 15 minutes. You should see a little pool of water at the bottom of the bowl.
While you’re waiting for the eggplant, place a large pot onto the stove on medium heat, and once hot, add enough coconut oil to cover the bottom of the pot. Place chopped onions into the pot and cook for about 5 minutes, making sure they don’t burn. Add more coconut oil if the onions are burning.
Once the onions are becoming translucent add the pre-salted eggplant chunks to the pot. Eggplant tends to absorb A LOT of oil, so be sure to add some more coconut oil and some water to make sure the eggplant and onions stay moist or wet the whole time they’re cooking. Cook for about 7 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
Place the mushrooms, garlic, ginger, turmeric, Serrano pepper, and cumin into the bowl. If you’re not sure how much of each spice to use, add a little of each to start with as you will likely add more later. You will adjust and taste throughout much of this process until you get the desired flavor. Cover with water.
Add the lentils into the pot, ensuring that they, too, are covered by the water. Add more water if necessary. Cover.
Bring the heat up to a rolling boil and then bring back down to a simmer.
Squeeze a little bit of the lemon juice into the mixture and stir.
Keep the dahl simmering for about 30 minutes (covered), checking the dahl every 5-10 minutes to make sure there’s enough water in the pot. You want the mixture to be a bit watery so the lentils can absorb the water and get soft! Keep adjusting the salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric and maybe some more lemon juice until you get your desired flavor.
Once the consistency and flavor profile of the dahl are up to par add in the chopped cilantro for the final touch to give it a herbal, earthy balance. Stir.
Serve and enjoy!