Lentils with Baby Spinach
Here is another vegetarian dish. This could be almost a one pot meal. All you need is some brown rice or quinoa.. well, those are the healthy options. One could also serve this with a rice pulao with lots of cumin and sautéed onions. Either way, this is a delicious dish that is very simple to make and very nutritious.
I love combining the orange and the yellow variety- the names of the lentils are below (actually I am not very good at remembering lentil names .. so I recognize them by color and shape). Anyway, I love combining the two and cooking them with a bit of garlic. I usually cook the lentils in water, but they can be made with chicken or vegetable broth.
Once the lentils are tender and cooked, I added baby spinach to the mix. I finished the dish with a tempering of cumin and mustard seeds.
It is one of my staples, especially when I don’t have a lot of time to cook…
- ½ cup pink lentils (masoor dal)
- ½ cup yellow lentils (moong dal)
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
Add the lentils, garlic, water, turmeric and salt to a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat till the lentils are soft.
- 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 cups baby spinach
Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan. Add the cumin and mustard seeds along with the cayenne pepper. Saute for a minute or two till the seeds begin to sizzle. Add the oil mixture to the simmering lentils. Add the spinach to the lentils and mix well till all the greens are wilted. Check for seasonings and serve hot.
