Pakistani-Indian Black Dahl (Fat Free)

I grew up eating (Pakistani-Indian) black dahl. It was a staple food for us with almost every meal. Now mind you, I ate a lot of meat and chicken when I was younger too. So once I turned plant based, the dahl stuck with me. I am offering you this incredible version here, that is totally overt fat free. 

Pakistani-Indian Black Dahl (Fat Free)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup beluga lentils (dahl) 
• 2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped 
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
• 1 inch knob ginger, finely chopped 
• 1 inch knob of ginger, julienned
• ½ tsp chilli powder 
• ½ tsp cayenne 
• 1 tsp cumin seed powder 
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped 
• 1 green chilli, sliced

Directions:

1. Firstly, boil the lentils in 2 cups of filtered water until soft, about 15-20 minutes.
2. Then, water saute the tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger and all the spices.  Once they are all soft and fragrant (should smell really good), add this mixture to the lentils.
3. Lastly, garnish with fresh cilantro, sliced green chillies and julienned ginger.
   

Do you want to make this recipe a little more decadent? This is a cleaner version of Makhni Dahl that you will find in an Indian restaurant, which is basically dahl cooked with a lot of butter and ghee. Of course, my recipe won’t include those, but will still make it super indulgent. 

Here it is…

Ingredients:

• 1 cup beluga lentils (dahl) 
• 2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped 
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
• 1 inch knob ginger, finely chopped 
• 1 inch knob of ginger, julienned
• 4 dried dundicut peppers (optional, they are very hot but really add authenticity to the recipe)
• ½  can of coconut milk 
• 4 tbsp Miyoko’s Kitchen Vegan Butter 
• ½ tsp chilli powder 
• ½ tsp cayenne 
• 1 tsp cumin seed powder 
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped 
• 1 green chilli, sliced

Directions:

1. Firstly, boil the lentils in 2 cups of filtered water until soft, about 15-20 minutes.
2. Then open the can of coconut milk (use the lite version if you want to go with a lower fat version). Usually in the can, the solids separate from the water.
3. Pour out into a mixing bowl and mix the solids and water together to make coconut milk. 
4. Then saute the tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger and all the spices in the vegan butter.  Once they are all soft and fragrant (should smell really good), add in ½ can of coconut milk.
5. Then add this mixture to the boiled dahl. 
6. Finally, garnish with fresh cilantro, sliced green chillies and julienned ginger. 

So which one are you planning to make? Try them both and let me know which one you liked better?