VeganMoFo - It must be eggplant season... that makes me a happy lady

Eggplants are cheap!! But they are not just cheap compared to how much they cost during the rest of the year... they are cheaper than most other vegetables at the moment. Now I love eggplant... but Nat is taking a little longer to warm to this versatile vegetable. However he did love this dish.

Dahl with eggplant and spinach

1 or 2 medium eggplants
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tsp madras curry powder
1 tsp chili paste
1 1/2 cups lentils
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups water
About 50g frozen spinach, thawed (I would have used more but I only had one cube left)
1/4 cup diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste

Directions
Preheat oven to 200ºC, pierce the eggplant with a fork a couple of times and put on a tray on the middle rack for 30 minutes. When done, cool and then peel off the skin and place in a food processor. Add the spinach.

While the eggplant is roasting, fry the onion and garlic in oil or water until brown. Add spices and seeds and continue to stir for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.

Add the lentils, salt and the water to the pot. Bring them to a boil and then cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the water is almost gone.

When the lentils are cooked, add half the lentil mixture to the food processor.
Add the spinach, tomatoes and tomato paste and process the ingredients on low. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the unblended lentils.

Serve over your choice of rice with naan or pappadams.

**I am going to make my first ever seitan tonight*** WATCH THIS SPACE*** I am super excited... and a little nervous.

Broccoli Dahl and a Friday night at home

Well last night it felt like the wind was going to take off the roof of our unit. We kept the curtains open last night so we could see the trees being whipped around outside. It was wonderful (ok, I am one of these people who LOVES thunderstorms - so in lieu of not having one since we have been in this new house, this came a close second).

My partner and I felt like something simple for tea last night and so we reverted back to one of my favourite foods, dahl.

We did, however, have some broccoli to use up so I thought I would chuck that into the mix as well.
It was a wonderful warming dish. The spice combination was a little different to my normal dahl recipe (I had run out of garam masala and so I played around a bit). I am a bit of a lazy cook when it comes to cooking for just the two of us. If I was to serve it to someone else I might steam the broccoli and then add it into the pan just before serving so it retains its bright green colour.


Broccoli Dahl

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 cup red lentils - rinsed
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3 cups chicken style broth
• 2 medium heads of broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (optional)
• salt to taste
• 1 cup cashews, coarsely chopped (optional)

1. Saute onion in water or oil until softened
   
2. Add chili powder, pepper, cumin, coriander and turmeric and stir for a minute.
3. Add lentils, lemon juice and broth.
4. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes (if mixture is too thick, you may need to add a little hot water).
5. Add broccoli to the saucepan (or steam in a seperate saucepan until it is done to your liking and set aside until later).
6. Cook for a futher 15-20 mins, or until broccoli and lentils are tender
   
7. add salt, coconut milk and cashews (if using). (Add broccoli if you decided to steam it seperatly).
   
8. Simmer for 5 minutes.
9. Serve over rice and serve with your favourite Indian condiments (we like pappadams cooked in the microwave so as to limit our oil consumption).