People in the western world do vegetarianism wrong. I can't imagine relegating myself to bland salads and pasta for the rest of my life. I don't understand how eating salads or pasta everyday is appealing, but I guess people do it.

I could go vegetarian if I lived in India. The spices and smells, even from a food stall down the street, rival most food in the west.

Dhal is a dish made of lentils mixed with lots of yummy spices. It's stew-like in consistency and usually made with ghee or clarified butter making this dish rich and homey. My dad usually makes this when I'm at home and it's easily one of my comfort foods since we had it at pretty much every meal.

Lentils in themselves have many nutritious benefits.

• high in fiber

  • can lower cholesterol

  • helps your gut health

• slow digesting carbs that don't spike your blood sugar

• good source of protein (25% of calories from protein)

• relatively low in calories leaves you feeling full

My typical lunch is a serving of dhal (without rice unfortunately) with a side of carrots. I throw in some extras to boost the nutrients that I get from the meal. It still ends up tasting very good and just like my chili, I've been living off of it throughout the busy fellowship.

Some of the ingredients may be hard to find in your typical grocery store, but shouldn't be too hard to find on amazon, or if you live in a big city, any indian grocery store will have these ingredients. Typically these kinds of spices are much much cheaper as an indian brand than the american brands. Cumin seeds are FIVE times cheaper when you by the Swad brand vs the McCormick brand, jeez.

Ingredients:

• [ ] 2 cups Masoor dal (red split lentils)

• [ ] 5 green chilis

• [ ] 1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)

• [ ] 1/2-1 red onion

• [ ] 2-3 roma tomatoes

• [ ] salt and pepper to taste

• [ ] 1.5 teaspoons turmeric

• [ ] 2 handfuls of baby carrots

• [ ] 1 bag of frozen shredded spinach

• [ ] 4 cups water

Spice mix

• mustard seeds, 1-2 pinches

• crushed red pepper, 1 teaspoon depending on preference

• cumin seeds, 1-2 pinches

• 3-4 garlic cloves, diced

• 1-2 curry leaves

Directions

1. wash the dhal until water runs clear

2. dice the onions and tomatoes, add them to the instant pot along with the chilis, washed dhal, turmeric, baby carrots, spinach, water, and ghee. Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes with natural pressure release.

3. In a separate pan, on high heat, fry the spice mix (mustard seeds, crushed red pepper, cumin seeds, garlic cloves, and curry leaves in olive oil or ghee/butter. Before the garlic burns, pour this mixture while hot into the rest of the dhal and give everything a good mix.

4. that's it! it's simple, quick, and tasty.

This is one of those simple, cheap indian dishes that I keep coming back to over and over again. It's that rare combination of cheap and healthy and keeps me full for a long time.

Try it out and let me know what you think. What do you want me to write about next? Let me know In the comments below.

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