Pimp up your winter dahl

I literally could live of any kind of Dahl but Tarka Dahl is my favourite. In India it is always my go to in restaurants accompanied with tandoori roti. But sometimes it's good to give the gluten a break and here I used spice-roasted butternut squash and crispy kale to pimp up my dahl for the winter without the bread.

It's warming, veggie (vegan if you don't use ghee), hearty, gut-loving and delicious. I always cook intuitively with spices and I encourage you to do the same. But here are some rough measurements and method you can follow for this dish.

See my IG reel on how I made this dish

The devil is in the details they say but the angel is in the numerous ways you can dress up a simple dahl. Here I use crispy kale, dehydrated red onions, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

Tarka Dahl
2 cups red lentils
1 cup mung dahl
1/4 cup channa dahl
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp Himalayam rock salt

For tempering:
1 tbsp ghee
1 tsp mustard oil
2 sticks cinnamon, 3 cloves, 2 dried red chillies, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 pinch of asafoetida, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 8 curry leaves, 1 green chilli (halved), 1.5 tsp fresh grated ginger (or matchsticks), 10 fresh cherry tomatoes

Wash dahl until it runs clear
Soak for 1 hour - drain water
Add 5 x amount of water to dahl and add ground turmeric and salt
bring to boil until tender (discard any white foam that forms)
For tempering: heat oil and add dry whole spices followed by seeds, asafoetida. allow aromas to release and then add ginger, curry leaves and chilli. temper until chilli look fried and add tomatoes, keep stirring until the tomatoes soften and then add to the dahl.
Finish off with finely chopped fresh coriander ad a squeeze of lime.

Spiced Butternut
1 small butternut - prepared into moon shapes
2 tbsp ghee or groundnut oil
2tsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp brown sugar

Make a paste and toss the squash in the mix until lightly and evenly coated. Lay on a parchment on an over tray and roast for 45 mins at gas mark 5-6 (you can check until tender.

Crispy Kale
Remove all the chunky stalks, wash and dry. in a low temperature over (gas mark 2-3) Lay on a baking tray with parchment paper and massage with a little oil, grind over some black pepper and roast until light and crispy, turning over occasionally.

Toppings
Dehydrated red onions, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.