Red Lentil Dahl

I’ve been making lentil dahl for such a long time! My mom, who loves to cook with different types of foods and ingredients, used to make it very often for us when I was still living at home. When I moved out and got married, it became a staple in my house as well. The creaminess of the coconut milk combined with the starch of the lentils, along with the hearty flavors of all the spices, makes this dish absolutely to die for!

Dahl is a traditional Indian recipe that dates back thousands of years. In India, it is commonly eaten with some sort of flatbread, such as roti, chapati, or naan, or with rice. In my house, we usually eat it with whatever grain we have available, but since this recipe is categorized for the Ovulatory Phase, I decided to present it with quinoa. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the Ovulatory Phase is the warmest phase of our body, which calls for cold, raw foods and crunchy veggies. Though here in Texas the temperatures are rising, we just went through a pretty cold winter, and even when I ovulate, I tend to prefer warmer foods when it’s snowing outside!

Last but not least, I don’t claim this recipe as being authentic Indian dahl! As an Italian woman, I definitely don’t want to step on the toes of the millions of people who have perfected this dish in the true Indian way. What I’m serving here is the way I learned it from my mom, crafted to bring warmth and comfort during this special phase of our cycle.

INGREDIENTS (for 2 witches)

• 2 cups of dry red lentils

• 1 tbsp of olive oil

• 1 onion (or 2-3 shallots)

• 1/4 cup of green onions (about 2 small green onions or a big one)

• 4 cloves of garlic

• 1 tsp of smoked paprika

• 1 tsp of sweet paprika

• 1 tbsp of garam masala

• 1 tsp of ground turmeric

• 2 tsp of curry

• 2 tsp of herbs seasoning (like a real Italian I use Herbs of Italy from Frontier, but if you have any dried herbs blend it’s going to work great)

• 1/2 tsp of pepper

• Salt to taste

• 1 tbsp of tomato paste

• 1 quart of water with 2 tbsp of Better than Bouillon paste (or any bouillon) or 1 quart of stock or broth

• 1 can of coconut milk (I used the organic coconut milk from Sprouts)

PROCEDURE

Step 0: It’s not actually a “real step” but more of an advice: make sure to have everything handy, because you’ll need to work quickly to avoid burning the Dahl.

Step 1: Finely dice your onion and green onions (I use a pre-cutter because I can’t be bothered), and mince your garlic. Put the onion-green onions-garlic mixture in a large skillet with olive oil and turn on the heat. Keep it stirred to avoid it burning and wait until the onions are starting to get translucent.

Step 2: Add your spices including salt and tomato paste and keep stirring to warm everything up. Add a tablespoon of water in case you see that something is starting to get stuck to the bottom and burn, because we have to avoid that since it’ll give the Dahl a bad burned flavor.

Step 3: Add your dry lentils and keep stirring for a couple of minutes to toast them. This is important because it will give flavor to the lentils.

Step 4: Now it’s time to cook the lentils. Add the broth or water with bouillon to the skillet and let cook for about 20 minutes with the lid on. Stir every 5 minutes to make sure nothing gets stuck to the bottom.

Step 5: Once the lentils are 90% cooked, add a full can of coconut milk and stir it in. Cook for another 5ish minutes, or until it gets creamier and no longer liquid. Adjust salt if needed

Step 6: Serve over some quinoa or rice and enjoy!

WHY IS THIS DISH OVULATORY PHASE-FRIENDLY?

Let’s discuss:

Red lentils: Red lentils are high in protein and fiber, which are essential for our health. Even more so, red lentils are full of plant protein that can help promote healthy ovulation. They’re also very high in folic acid, which is essential for healthy ovulation and is known to increase fertility.

Turmeric: Did you know that spices can be cycle synced? It’s the case for turmeric: one of its compounds, named curcumin, links turmeric to healthy ovulation and increased fertility because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant powers, which are key factors in a good ovulatory phase. It’s important to know that curcumin is easily metabolized by the body, which means that to enhance the absorption of this phenomenal component, we need to add other ingredients: specifically, black pepper— which contains piperine— and coconut milk, as curcumin is fat-soluble and able to dissolve in the fat present in coconut milk.

Coconut milk:

More information and ingredient swaps

You can use any lentils you want depending on what you have in your pantry. You can omit or add more onion, garlic, shallots, omit tomato paste and use canned tomatoes or tomato sauce, or add any vegetables you’d like. I also like to add spinach when I have it on hand (or when my husband harvests it for us!).