A super simple, affordable vegan dinner that is hearty enough to fill you up on a cold day and healthy enough to make big batches and live off it for weeks if you want! :) Vegan, Gluten Free, Sugar Free. Delicious.
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds or ground cumin
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger or ginger puree
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 200 g (1 cup) red lentils, rinsed (better yet - soaked overnight and then rinsed)
- 200 g (1 cup) yellow split peas, rinsed (better yet - soaked overnight and then rinsed)
- 1.25 l (5 cups) water
- 400 g (14oz) tin tomatoes (peeled plum or chopped)
- 250 g (1 cup) sweet potato puree (about 1-2 sweet potatoes cooked in the oven or microwave until soft, peeled and pureed), optional but adds a lovely sweetness and extra veg)
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 large aubergine (eggplant) or 2 small, finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander (cilantro) seeds
- cooked Basmati or brown rice, optional but makes a complete protein with the lentils and makes it a heartier meal
- fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut, optional
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Toast the mustard and fennel seeds (and cumin if using seeds) in a pan over high heat for a couple of minutes until they release their delicious smells. Crush in a pestle and mortar. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive or coconut oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion gently over a low-medium heat for a couple of minutes until translucent. Add in the crushed spices along with the ground spices, bay leaf, ginger and garlic. Fry gently for a minute or two to intensify the flavours, then place in the slow cooker with all of the other dahl ingredients. Mix well, then cook on High for 2-3 hours (or Low for 4-6 hours). Towards the end of cooking time, make the aubergines.
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For the aubergines, get a griddle pan (grill pan in America - it should have raised lines, rather than be flat) nice and hot over high heat. Brush the aubergine slices with olive oil, then lay in the hot pan so they sizzle and char. Cook the slices in batches for about 2 minutes on each side, until they have beautiful char lines and have gone soft and darker in colour. Keep them hot by keeping on a plate covered with foil. For added flavour, heat a couple of teaspoons of olive oil in a pan and fry the cumin and coriander seeds in the oil to flavour it. Serve the charred aubergines over the dahl (and rice if using) and pour over the oil (if using), some desiccated coconut and plenty of fresh coriander.