Healthy spinach, pea and lime dahl

Adapted from Mimi Spencer, The Fast Diet Cookbook

For those days when you are trying to keep the calories down but want something which will satisfy, lentils do the trick due to their protein and soluble fibre.

This is a deceptively simple recipe. One of those rare gems of a recipe whose result is greater than the sum of its parts.

Time

45 minutes total: 30 minutes attended, 15 minutes unattended

Storage notes

Keeps in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Difficulty

very easy

Yield

1600 g (servings 2 –4)

Ingredients

Weight

Volume

Procedure

Oil, hazelnut

14 g

1 tbsp

Heat in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Onion, diced

150 g

1 large

Carrot, diced

150 g

1 large

Garlic, finely chopped

16 g

4 medium cloves

Chilli, red, finely chopped

3 g

1 small

Ginger, minced

4 g

2 tsp

Add to pot and sauté until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.

Water or vegetable stock

20 g

4 tsp

Turmeric, ground

1.1 g

½ tsp

Cayenne pepper, ground

0.9 g

½ tsp

Paprika

2.3 g

1 tsp

Add to pot, stir to combine and cook for 1 minute.

Lentils, red, rinsed

250 g

1¼ cups

Add to pot and stir to coat.

Water or vegetable stock

750 g

3 cups

Add to pot and stir.

Bring to boil and reduce to simmer.

Cook until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add additional water if it becomes too thick.

Tomatoes; flesh only, roughly chopped

300 g

4 medium

Peas, frozen

80 g

⅓ cup

Spinach

50 g

2 cups

Salt

3.5 g

½ tsp

Add to pot and bring to boil. Cook 3 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Lime juice

30 g

1 medium

Pepper

1 g

½ tsp

Season and serve.

Original: 2013. Adapted: 2014.

Notes

Monitor the level of water D to ensure it does not simmer dry and add more water if required.

(What is the weight of a small red chilli? This value is still unknown. But the rest of this recipe has been checked volume vs weight.)

Making ahead

Weigh and combine the ground spices C and store in an air-tight container out of direct sunlight. Deseed the tomatoes F.

Nutrition

Serving size 800 g; calories 443 kcal, kilojoules 1845.9 kJ, protein 14.3 g, carbohydrates 45 g, sugar 23.9 g, fat 19.5 g, saturated fat 1.7 g, unsaturated fat 27.4 g, trans fat 0 g, fiber 16.6 g, cholesterol 0 mg,

Type stew

Author bhsimon

Yield

Servings

–

Serving size 400–800 g

Serve	Per serve
Energy (kcal)	443
Energy (kJ)	1845.9
Protein (g)	14.3
Fat (g)	19.5
Carbs (g)	45
Sugars (g)	23.9
Fiber (g)	16.6
Sodium (mg)	152.9
Cholesterol (mg)	0

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