Chana Dal

I want to share some of the recipes from our bake sale, but before inundating you with more sweets, thought I'd throw this simple recipe for dal into the mix. I swiped this from the wonderful Mothering magazine website.

3/4 cup of chana dal or yellow split peas*

3/4 cup water

2 tsp vegetable oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds (optional)

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 crushed garlic cloves

1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 red chili, finely chopped

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed

1/4 tsp chili powder (amount as you prefer)

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp salt

Wash the chana dal thoroughly and soak for 30 minutes. Drain, cover with fresh water and bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until dal are soft. Cook uncovered until liquid is gone.

Heat oil in large pan and fry mustard seeds for 2 minutes - until they start to sputter. Add onion, ginger, garlic, and red chili and fry for 5-6 minutes, then add spinach and cook for 10 minutes until spinach is dry and liquid absorbed. Stir in remaining spices and salt, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the chana dal to spinach and cook for about 5 minutes. Serve.

*You can also make this dish with canned chickpeas. If so, skip step one but drain off liquid, rinse in water, drain again and then add in at the after cooking the spinach.