Red Lentil Dal with Chickpeas

Red Lentils, anyone? Yes, please!
I was perusing my farmer's market a few days ago when I stumbled upon a rad little booth that was chock-full of dried legumes. You know how I love my legumes! I simply cannot resist. Alright, so I found red lentils at the booth. Now what? Google to the rescue. Make a dal.

I've never eaten dal, but the suggestions I found said it was a curry. Dudes, I can do curries. So, here is my version. Pardon me if it isn't authentic or whatever. It is, however, fucking yummy over some brown basmati rice. The only thing that would have made it better is some naan or some pitas. It would be lovely served sammich style.

Instead of using oil to sautee the veg, I decided to use veggie broth, which is a trick I learned in the Get Healthy Go Vegan Cookbook by Neal Barnard. It saves on fat and calories, and it tastes yummy.Give it a shot sometime.

Anywhooo, it makes 4 dinner size servings when combined with rice.

Ingredients:

• 3 small roma tomatoes, chopped (with the guts)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/3 cups veggie broth
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1 very large carrot (or 2 medium carrots) sliced thinly
• 2 TB tomato paste
• 1 heaped tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp ginger powder
• 1 1/4 tsp cumin
• 2/3 cup dried red lentils
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp coriander
• pinch cardamom
• 1 tsp muchi curry powder (mine is super potent, so you may need to add more)
• salt and pepper
• pinch cayenne or chili powder

Method:

1. Put a medium size pot over a medium heat burner. Add the 1/3 cup of broth, the onions, carrots and garlic. Stir occasionally to keep anything from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook until the onions are translucent. I put a lid on mine to cook a little faster. It took about 5 minutes.
2. Now mix in the turmeric, ginger, paprikas, coriander, cardamom, chili powder, salt and pepper.
3. Bring the burner up to medium-high. Add the rest of the broth, the tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, tomato paste and mix well. Bring to a boil for about 4 minutes.
4. Then put a lid on the pot and lower heat to medium-low. Simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now remove the lid and let thicken up for about 7 minutes, or until the dal is thick to your liking. 
5. Mix in the curry powder (adding it too early can sometimes turn the curry powder bitter). Let sit out for 5 minutes or so. Then serve it up over some rice or quinoa. Mmmmm.