Warm Dal with Spinach (from ‘tibits at home’ cookbook)

warm-dal-tibits-montagu

First and foremost, HUGE apologies for the 2  month delay in posts!  We’ve had a very busy summer and then getting all 4 kids back to school and other work life bits has consumed me…… until NOW!

So, posts are officially back and I’m so excited that they are!  I can feel the chill in the air in London that Autumn has officially arrived – and I love it!  The crisp air, the leaves falling and my kids playing so much sport…… every weekend has definitely made me crave something warm and grounding!

Tibits at Home

So when I was sent a lovely cookbook called ‘tibits at home’ from the incredible tibits restaurant – I couldn’t wait to cook from it!

Not only is there a restaurant in Soho (London), but there are locations in Zurich, Winterhur, Berne and Basel.  tibits has been serving healthy vegetarian food for over a decade and was established by three brothers. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, their restaurant in Zurich is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world!

The cookbook is filled with delicious, seasonal recipes and it was hard to choose which one to do for this blog!  But after much deliberation, the Warm Dal with Spinach won!  So, let’s get started….

Ingredients:

Serves 4 as a main and 6 as a side….. you decide!

  • 250g red lentils
  • 1 onion
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 20g fresh ginger
  • 4 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 500g fresh spinach
  • 400ml coconut milk
  • 200ml water
  • freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced

I was lucky enough to have some super fresh, organic spinach on hand from my inlaws kitchen garden.  I especially love the photo of the spinach in the basket, basking in the sunny autumn day! But remember you can use any dark green leafy vegetable if you don’t have spinach on hand…. kale works just as well too!

Method:

1.  Cook the lentils for about 8 minutes in water and then drain.
2. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic.  Peel the ginger and grate finely.  Heat a frying pan, then add the oil and sweat the onion until transparent.  Add the garlic, ginger and spices and fry for 1 minute, until the mixture develops its fragrance.
3.  Wash and pluck the spinach, add to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4.  Add coconut milk and water, and stir well.
5.  Add the drained lentils, mix in well and cook for a further 5 minutes.
6.  Season to taste with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and lemon juice.

Serve in warm bowls with some whole-wheat pita bread or brown rice or maybe just a simple side salad!  YUMMY!

The flavours in this recipe are perfection.  And I love it that it has turmeric, the new queen of spice which may help ward of dementia and reduce the risk of cancer.  I’m in!

Be sure to check out ‘tibits at home’ cookbook at www.tibits.co.uk and also their restaurants too. I’m lucky enough to be heading to their Soho location in mid-October to check out their Autumn menu and will be posting my review here!  So stay tuned!!!!

And if you like this post then why not like my Facebook, or follow me on Twitter or Instagram!

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This Post Has 46 Comments

  6. I love lentils and I am going to try your recipe. I am not such a spinach fan. I may substitute it with kale or other greens.

    Reply

  12. Thanks for following my blog, I must say I am very excited about the recipes on your blog, and it reminded me that I have to pick our pumpkin to make some soup!

    Reply

  17. I meant to thank you for following me. I’m following you as well Julie. Everything you make looks delicious and I look forward to trying the recipes. It is intriguing in that there are some ingredients that I have not seen, so thanks for putting the photos up. I will now know what to look for when I shop.

    Reply

  21. Thanks for following my blog. I’m interested in eating more ‘plant based’ foods ( a la Scott jurek) so I will be following your blog with interest! Julie.

    Reply

  29. This was an awesome dish – I made it last week. I accidentally picked up turnip greens for it and didn’t realise it until we got home…but it tastes really good with turnip greens, too.

    Reply

  34. Hi Julie, I wanted to reblog 2 of your receipes, this one and the spinach dal, but I was hoping to re-blog them together in one post as ‘What I am cooking tomorrow’. Instead it didn’t work and they 2 were posted in my blog separately. I thought I could do it again and deleted those 2 posts but don’t seem to be able to. Anyhow just wanted to let you know in case you found this confusing.
    I cooked the lentil and sweet potato tonight, ready for tomorrow and I will do the dal tomorrow. Having some friends for dinner. Your recipes are great, thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  42. I make with brown lentils, beef broth, spinach well cooked, a few thin slices of carrot and a hint of garlic . That all. Alternatives add some orzo or small elbow macaroni , and other times small amount of ground beef or ground Italian sausage. Thank visit my blog.

    Reply

  45. I have all the ingredients, save the leafy greens. As soon as I get them, this recipe will be first on the list.
    Thank you for the post. 🙂

    Reply

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