International Recipe: Savoury Mung Bean and Vegetable Dahl (GF, Vegan)

 My first experience of dahl was on a sticky, hot day in Malaysia 16 years ago. I was a seven year old in awe of this exotic, beautiful new country and I had a huge love of food. Today eating dahl is a comforting memory, it takes me back to being that innocent kid sitting at that road side stall, ripping off chunks of roti and dunking it into aromatic, garlicky dahl - breathing in the spices, the sounds of hustle and bustle and the smiles of passing pedestrians. 

This month my housemate has gone vegan with zero processed foods and it was my turn to cook our weekly flat meal. I decided dahl was the best way to go and modified an old mung bean recipe of mine to be a bit healthier, with fully non processed ingredients and its completely vegan friendly. 

Ingredients:

2 tsp coconut oil

1 onion

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp poppy seeds

4-5 cardamon pods

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1.5 tsp tumeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground cumin

salt to taste

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons of ground ginger

1.5 cups of mung beans (soak overnight)

2 medium sized carrots

1 small eggplant

1 tomato

100-150 grams of pumpkin/squash

Instructions:

Dice all vegetables into small chunks/cubes ready for cooking. Heat up the coconut oil in the bottom of a large pot and fry onions on medium-high until they are glassy and golden. Lower the heat to the lowest setting and add the whole seeds and pods, constantly stirring to ensure they do not burn. After toasting the pods for a minute add vegetables and fill with water until the vegetables are just covered. Mix in the rest of the spices, ginger and garlic, stirring in salt. Simmer on low for 1-2 hours (until mung beans are soft).

Serve with fragrant wild rice and fresh garden greens. Enjoy!