Crock Pot Dal
Ingredients
- 1 cup masoor dal ⓘ
- 3 cups water ⓘ
- 4 tablespoons oil ⓘ
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon hing ⓘ
- 12 curry leaves ⓘ
- 1 -2 roughly chopped tomato ⓘ
- 2 minced serrano chilies ⓘ
- 5 -6 ounces chopped fresh spinach
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric ⓘ
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin ⓘ
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- salt, as needed ⓘ
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- chopped cilantro, for garnish ⓘ
Instructions
- Rinse 1 cup masoor dal (the orange lentils), or split yellow moong dal or toor dal and place ithe lentils in a crockpot whose insides you have lightly oiled.
- Add 3 cups water, put the crockpot on high and cook for two hours.
- Stir, and check to see if more water is needed. Keep checking for water and stirring every 30 minutes until the lentils are cooked smooth.
- When it is almost time to eat, in a large nonstick frying pan put the oil and mustard seeds. Heat over high heat until the mustard seeds have popped for about 10 seconds.
- Quickly stir in the hing and curry leaves.
- Add the tomatoes (optional) and serrano chilies. Stir-fry for about 4 minutes.
- Add the spinach (this is optional). Stir-fry until the spinach is very tender, adding a little water if needed.
- Stir in the turmeric, ground cumin and ground coriander.
- Combine the spices and lentils either in the frying pan or the crockpot and mix until well blended. Check for water.
- Add salt to taste and stir in the lemon juice. If desired, garnish with a little cilantro.
- Variation: Instead of the spinach you can add 1 minced carrot that you have cooked in a bowl of water in the microwave for about 10 minutes, along with 1 large diced potato. When adding the cooked carrot and potato pieces to the fryiing pan, add 1/2 cup frozen green beans and 1/4 cup frozen peas. If you want to use fresh green beans, cook them in the microwave like you did the carrots and potato.
Nutrition & Diet Analysis (per serving)
563
kcal
28% DV
Protein
Fat
Carbs
* % Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet (FDA 2020).