Mung Dahl

Mung Dahl

This makes a very large saucepan of food and makes probably 10 lunches.  Once made I serve it straight into the lunch boxes and freeze so they are ready to go.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 500g mung beans (soak overnight (or for minimum 4 hours) in double their volume of filterered water in a very large bowl – keep covered, then drain and rinse)
  • 4 large onions, sliced
  • 6 large cloves of garlic, diced or grated
  • 1 x 2 inch piece of ginger, grated or finely diced
  • 4 large carrots, finely diced
  • 2 sticks of celery, finely diced
  • 8 large handfuls of greens, e.g. baby spinach, spinach, winter leaves, kale
  • 1 x bunch of coriander, finely chop the stems and roughly chop the leaves
  • 2 large limes or lemons – juiced
  • 1.25-1.5 litres of hot homemade chicken stock or hot water – you might want to add less or more depending on how soupy you like your dahl
  • 1 tablespoon of ghee or coconut oil
  • Sea salt or Tamari (a gluten-free soy sauce) to taste
  • Approximately 2 large pinches of sea salt and 1 tablespoon of Tamari
  • 2 large pinches of black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon of ground turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons of ground coriander
  • Optional: dried or fresh chilli to taste

METHOD:

  1. Cover and soak the mung beans – overnight or minimum 4 hours – then drain and rinse
  2.  Gently heat the coconut oil/ghee and fry the spices in a large deep frying pan for a few minutes on  medium heat until fragrant  (add chilli now if you want this a little spicy).
  3. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes until soft – stir occasionally
  4. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for a further 5 minutes on a gentle heat – regularly stir to prevent over-browning.
  5. add the diced carrots and celery
  6.  add the stock and then the mung beans and continue to cook
  7. Add salt/Tamari and pepper, the chopped coriander ends and continue to cook with the lid on for a further 30 minutes on a medium heat.
  8. Add more stock/water if needed and stir at the bottom of the pan to prevent burning. If you’re using kale or a “harder” green veg then add it now, or if using baby spinach or chopped spinach then save and add when serving.
  9. Serve with a handful of spinach stirred into each bowl of dahl (the heat will wilt the leaves)