Preparation time
30 minutes
Cooking time
30 minutes
Serves
2-3
Recipe courtesy of
Nalini Deshpande
| 1 cup basmati rice |
| 1 cup red lentils |
| 2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves |
| 4 firm red Roma tomatoes |
| 1 medium size Lebanese cucumber |
| 200g fat free natural yoghurt |
| 3 tsp leon juice |
| 40g sultanas |
| half tsp turmeric powder |
| 4 tsp cumin seeds |
| 2 tsp black mustard seeds |
| 5 large garlic cloves |
| 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil |
| sumac powder (for garnish) |
- Wash 1 cup rice grains in cold water. The add 1.5 cups cold water and soak the rice grains for 10 minutes.
- Use an electric rice cooker or microwave.
- Turn on the rice cooker or cook on high in the microwave proof container with a fitting lid for six minutes.
- After 6 minutes wait for one more minute and check rice. If rice appears uncooked cover and cook for three more minutes.
- Open the lid only when ready to serve. Rice serving size ½ cup.
- Wash 1 cup red lentils twice in cold water in a large heavy base saucepan. Then add 3 cups water to the lentils and bring to boil.
- Reduce heat, add twice washed and finely chopped baby spinach leaves.
- Wash and finely chop Roma tomatoes and add to the cooking lentils and spinach.
- Now add freshly prepared paste of two garlic cloves, ½ tsp. turmeric powder, 1tsp of cumin seeds and 1 tsp. olive oil to the lentil mixture.
- Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes or until lentils, spinach and tomatoes are fully cooked. Check to avoid lentils drying out, add extra water if needed.
- When lentils are cooked, mash lentils with a round ladle. The daal is ready when it has a smooth and thick liquid consistency. Simmer on low heat for next 5-7 minutes to keep warm.
- In another small saucepan heat 1tbs olive oil.
- Once hot, add 2 tsp mustard seeds. . When seeds splutter add 1 tsp cumin seeds and allow to become slightly dark brown. The seeds should not burn.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add paste of 2 garlic cloves to the hot oil, let the paste fry for a few seconds. Do not allow to burn.
- Immediately pour over daal, reserving a small amount of oil and seeds in the sauce pan.
- Squeeze the juice of ½ lemon in to the daal and stir well. Serving size for daal ½ cup
- Wash the Lebanese cucumber. Do not peel.
- Finely chop and add to a bowl with 200g fat free natural yoghurt and 40g sultanas.
- Make a paste of one garlic clove and one tsp. cumin seeds using a pestle and mortar and add to the cucumber yoghurt mixture and mix well.
- Add the remaining oil and seeds from the small saucepan and mix well.
- Sprinkle sumac and stir. Sprinkle some more as garnish.
- Serving size of daal ½ cup
- Serve the tasty vegetarian meal of rice, daal and cucumber yoghurt salad.
| Engery | 2149kj |
| Protein | 18g |
| Saturated Fat | 1.7g |
| Total Fat | 11g |
| Carbohydrates | 79g |
| Sugars | 17g |
| Dietary Fibre | 9g |
| Sodium | 419mg |