EFFORTLESS DHAL

Travelling to India has been on my bucket list for quite some time. Why, you many ask? The dominant reason is THE FOOD. Indian food holds a special place in my heart. I love the rich scents and unique fragrances that accompany every dish. The aromas of indian spices, such as cumin, garam masala, caraway seeds and cardamom, are incomparable. For some reason, vegetables in Indian dishes always taste ten times more amazing than they do in other meals. So, as you can see, my love runs deep. Brisbane climate, however, is not ideal for Indian cuisine. You can barely eat Indian food in winter without sweating. In addition, the fat content in the majority of Indian dishes leaves little to be desired. 

Having cooked a delicious omelette stir-fry from Women's Weekly 'Super Diet' just a day prior, I decided to peruse this cookbook for other inspiration, which I found in the form of: 

CHICKEN & RED LENTIL DHAL 

Ingredients 

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium brown onion (150g), finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/8- 1/4 teaspoon of chilli flakes 
• depending on the amount of spice you want / are used to. 
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 cup dried red lentils (200g), rinsed 
• available at Woolworths & Coles, usually near the soup.
• 500g chicken breast, cut into strips
• 3 cups (750ml) water
• 250- 500g broccoli florets
• regular readers of this blog will know about my obsession with broccoli. 250g will do just fine, but I suggest that you add more. 

• Optional- 1 lemon (140g), cut into wedges, 1/3 cup (95g) yogurt, 1 cup loosely packed freshly coriander leaves. 
• I did not use any of these ingredients as the dhal was tasty enough on its own and not too hot but I will include them just in case. 

Cooking 

1. Heat oil in large saucepan; cook onion and garlic, stirring, until onion is light brown. Add chilli flakes and spices and stir until fragrant. Add lentils, chicken and the water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for around 15 minutes. Add broccoli and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes, or until broccoli is tender. 

2. Optional- sprinkle with coriander and serve with yogurt and lemon wedges. 

Preparation & cooking time- 35 minutes / Serves 4

Nutritional count per serving - 8.4g total fat / 1555k (372 calories) / 45.2g protein / 11g fibre / 23.6g carbohydrate 

x E