Curtis Stone's cauliflower and spinach dal

For a hearty bowl of comfort food, have a go at Curtis Stone's Cauliflower and Spinach Dal. It’s packed to the brim with delicious spices and served with steamed brown rice.

Hey everyone, Curtis here, listen, our what’s for dinner segments have been a real hit, but this week I’ve got a challenge for everyone. Our Heart Foundation’s Cook with Heart Challenge. What I’m going to ask you to do is really think about the food you're eating and how heathy it is, how healthy it is for our hearts, and today I have one that is absolutely delicious while being really good for ya. It’s called a Dal. Let’s start cooking. You start off with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, about a tablespoon. Pop that into the bottom of the pan, then of course, first things first onions.

A really cool thing about Indian food is how layered it is, there’s so many different spices and you’re not relying on salt, we always think of salt as seasoning, but that’s just one of them. You know we’re going to use coriander, cumin cayenne pepper and all of those flavours, all of those spices are going to season the dish.

Ok, once that onion has been softening for about 5 minutes, you throw in your garlic, your ginger and your chilli. It smells so good, instantly so good, and you can feel even in your eyes the aggressiveness of that chilli. Next we put in the spices, now this is an important part. You put the spices in early on because you want them to toast, you want to fill the room with their scent. Corriander and cumin they go in first and then cayenne pepper, this is the spicy one. Alright we’ve got a few minutes, ok, we’ve got a little bit of time to prepping our cauliflower and also washing our split peas. So now we’re getting down to the business end.

You go ahead and get you peas, I’m using those green peas, you can use yellow as well. Then what you’re going to do is use six cups of water. In it goes. You won’t believe it but these split peas will absorb all of that liquid. Drop your lid on and once it comes up to a simmer, you’re going to turn the temperature down, just to keep a really gentle simmer. It’s going to take forty-five minutes and then we’ll add our cauliflower. Of course if you want to add in even more veggies, carrots, pumpkin, you know, you name it, you can always add that in and it will be delicious. So we add the cauliflower, about twenty to thirty minutes and dinner will be cooked. So what I’ve gone ahead and done, I’ve thrown some rice in the rice cooker, that’ll be ready about the same time. The only thing left to add is this beautiful stuff, the spinach. So when someone says what’s for dinner, dal, you say dal, dal….

I’m gonna finish with a couple of sprigs of coriander over the dal. It’s super affordable, really easy to do, but most importantly ultra delicious. So come on, join the challenge,  and while creating some delicious food raise some funds for the Heart Foundation.

Curtis Stone's cauliflower and spinach dal
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Serves

6

Prep

10m

Cooking

1h 30m

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) tbs olive oil
  • 1 brown onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup finely grated ginger
  • 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 long red chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 450g (about 2 cups) yellow or green split peas, rinsed
  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
  • 170g baby spinach
  • Coriander leaves, to serve
  • Steamed brown basmati rice, for serving

Method

STEP 1 

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil and onion. Cook, stirring often, for 5 mins or until the onion is tender. Stir in the ginger, garlic and chilli. Cook for 1 min or until fragrant. Add the ground coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper, if using. Cook, stirring often, for about 1-2 mins to toast the spices.

STEP 2

Stir in the peas and enough water to cover (about 6 cups/1.5L). Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 mins or until the peas are tender.

STEP 3 

Add the cauliflower. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed, for about 35 mins or until the cauliflower is falling apart and the mixture thickens slightly. Add the spinach and stir until just wilted.

STEP 4 

Spoon the dal onto a serving platter with the rice. Sprinkle with coriander to serve.

Check ingredient labels to make sure they meet your specific dietary requirements and always consult a health professional before changing your diet. View dietary information here.