Indian Dahl with Coconut Jasmine Rice and Roasted Vegetables

I got this great recipe for Dahl from my friend Gillian Khawar. She made it for us on New Year’s eve and we couldn’t get enough. Dahl is an Indian lentil dish with different spices depending on where you get it. To add to this dish, I made coconut jasmine rice and roasted asparagus and squash. The whole combination was so delicious and healthy.

Roasted Vegetables Ingredients:

1/2 white onion chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
2 cups of asparagus chopped
1 medium yellow squash sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
2 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Place all chopped vegetable on a baking sheet and drizzle olive oil, salt, paprika and cayenne pepper over them. Mix them together with your hands so that the seasoning is evenly places. Put into the oven at 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes

Coconut Rice Ingredients:

2 cups of canned condensed coconut milk
1 cup water
2 cups of Jasmine rice

Bring coconut milk and water to boil. Pour in rice and cover. Reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes.

Dahl Ingredients:

5 cups water
2 cups red lentils (they look orange but are called ‘red lentils’)
1 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 cloves of garlic minced

In a large bowl soak 2 cups of lentils in hot water for about ten minutes. In a medium pot pour in water, chili powder, salt, tumeric, and garlic. Bring to boil. Add soaked lentils and bring to boil; then reduce to simmer. Mix the lentils intermittently with a spoon and let simmer for about 25 minutes or until beans have softened completely and absorbed all the aromatic water.

Assembling the meal:

Start with a heaping spoonful of coconut jasmine rice. Top with cooked Dahl and roasted vegetable. Then it is ready to serve.

Yields: 6-8 servings