It’s no secret that Dhal is one of my absolute favorite foods, it’s on constant rotation in my house. It’s so versatile. It’s a great way to feed a crowd and a handy one to prep in advance, it works brilliantly in a food flask for lunch on the go and once you have the basics you can add whatever you have in the fridge or keep it simple. But I don’t eat the same dhal all year round, I tweak it depending on the season. We served this is a Spring season dhal on our Spring retreat day accompanied by wild garlic pesto and fresh herbs and it went down a treat.

Spring is the season of Kapha aggravation, Kapha (Earth & Water) is the heaviest of the doshas, so in Spring we need to think warm, light, drying and scraping to balance Kapha.

Kapha aggravation in the body presents as excess mucus, think snotty noses, coughs and colds, slow digestion, and a feeling of heaviness, sluggishness or lethargy in the body/ mind.

You can check out some of my previous posts on other ways to balance Kapha in Spring and ensure your feel your best throughout the season.

Yoganess Ireland’s Basic Dahl

Ingredients (serves 4)

1/2 tsp each of Fennel seeds  – prevents overheating, supports gentle digestion

Mustard seeds –  penetrating, heating, clears mucus

Cumin seeds – improves absorption, reduces gas

Fenugreek –  bitter + scraping (lekhana) → reduces sluggishness

 

Seeds from 1 cardamom pod-  aromatic, reduces heaviness from lentils 

1tbsp Ghee, coconut oil or oil of your choice 

 

1/2 tsp of Cumin powder 

2 tsp Coriander powder 

1 tsp Kashmiri chilli flakes 

 

1 onion 

2 cloves of garlic 

4 tomatoes 

250g Red lentils 

 

Carrots

Green beans 

Courgette  – All finely chopped

 

Rainbow chard

Parsley & lemon to serve

Method

  • Heat the ghee/ oil in a large pan and add the spices. Toast the spices until they pop and remove from the heat.
  • Add the onion and cook until translucent. 
  • Add the garlic and ginger and cook off
  • Add the dried spices, cook for a few mins without burning and add chopped tomatoes
  • Add the rinsed lentils to the pan. Coat in the spices and aromatics. 
  • Add 750ml of cold water along with the carrots, green beans and courgettes
  • Cook for approx 25 mins adding more water of necessary
  • Add the chard 5 mins before serving
  • Serve with Basmati Rice, parsley and lemon on top. Add your favourite chutney. We love an apple or beetroot chutney. 

Enjoy

PS: Let me know if you try it.