Coconut lentil dhal

A new year...that feels pretty good! A bubble of excitement and potential....anything could happen in the next 365 days!

At the end of last year I quit my job to pursue my passions in the blogging/nutrition/photography/fitness/coaching arenas (yep I couldn't just pick one!) so you should see a few changes in coming weeks and months as I develop, blend and refine my thoughts and decisions further.

For those that follow my Facebook page, you will already have seen my Manifesto. I decided to create a graphic collage of some of my favourite quotes, it is to be printed on a canvas for my bedroom wall  to keep me focussed when at times I flounder.

The New Year is the perfect chance to start a fresh, to act on intentions and set the year off on the right foot. I am actually looking forward to a 'cleaning eating' January....Christmas brought with it way to much sugar and I am looking forward to getting back to basics. Many of my posts this month will be of the savoury variety...though i'm sure I will end up sneaking a few sweets in here and there. ;-)

So, first up....coconut and lentil dhal. I made this side dish along with this chana masala for the New Years Eve party my friend and her fiancé held. We had an Indian feast! I had a smaller portion of the dhal for my lunch (gotta test it out before letting it loose on my friends!) and here I topped it with pan fried onions and some slithers of mango which made for a lovely contrast of flavours.

I hope you enjoyed your own New Years celebrations!

Recipe: Lentil Dhal with onion and mango
Closely inspired by this recipe.

Serves 4 as a side (note the photo only shows approx. 1/3 of the recipe)

Ingredients:

250g red lentils 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
2 medium chopped tomatoes
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 onion finely sliced
300ml water

Topping:
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion roughly sliced
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup mango slices

Method:

Add all ingredients (other than topping) to a saucepan, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender.

Meanwhile, fry the sliced onion until softened and crisp at the edges adding the mustard and cumin seeds during the final couple of minutes. Mix with the sliced mango, and serve immediately spooned over the dhal.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.