Dal Palak & homemade vegan naan

After my Aloo Palak spinach epiphany, I felt bold enough to branch out to other spinach recipes. I love dal, so it was a natural choice to try out a spinach dal recipe.
I made some adjustments to the original recipe, so this is by no means authentic, but it's pretty darn yummy nonetheless.
I recently also made my own naan for the first time, so I'm including that recipe here as well.

Dal palak (4-5 servings):
1,5 cup toor dal (yellow lentils)
200g frozen spinach, thawed.
4 cloves of garlic, minced (or 4 tsp garlic paste)
2 medium onions, chopped
2-3 tsp sambal oelek (or more to taste)
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tbsp oil

Rinse the lentils and pick out any stones etc.
In a large pot, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Once they start to pop and give off scent, add onion, garlic and sambal oelek. Saute until onion is translucent, then add lentils and spinach.
Add ca. 1l (2 pints) water and crumble in the stock cube, stir everything together and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer the dal approx. 45 min, covered. The dal is done when you can easily crush the lentils. I like a thick dal, so I usually cook it uncovered for a bit to reduce the liquid. Using a spatula or masher, mash part of the the dal.
Serve warm with rice, naan or roti.

Tip: I like to make this dal in a stovetop pressure cooker. Saute the ingredients in the pressure cooker as described above. After adding the water, close the lid on your pressure cooker and bring to high pressure (2). Cook for 7-10 minutes, then use natural release.

Original recipe

Naan (serves 4):

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp warm tap water
3/8 tsp dry active yeast
6 tbsp warm non-dairy milk (I used Alpro unsweetened almond milk)
1/2 cup non-dairy yogurt (I used Alpro unsweetened soy yogurt)
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1 tsp coriander powder (optional)
Oil for brushing

In a bowl, disolve the sugar in the warm water. Add the yeast and stir to disolve. Set aside for approx. 10 mins or until the mixture starts to froth and rise.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder & coriander powder (if using).
When the yeast mixture is foaming, add the warm milk and yogurt, stirring to combine.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine with a spatula. When the ingredients are combined, finish mixing the dough with your hands to form a ball. Do not overknead.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and leave to rise for an hour at a warm place.
Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll each part into a thin oval on a floured surface.
Thoroughly heat a skillet. Brush oil on both sides of the bread.
Add one piece of bread to the pan and cook 1-2 min, covered. Bubbles should form on the bread.
Flip the bread and cook another 1-2 min. Repeat with the rest of the naan.
Serve warm. These naans freeze well too.

Original recipe

Grandma's soup

I have very fond memories of this soup. My grandma often used to make this on the weekends or for family get-togethers such as birthdays when a lot of family members would stay for dinner.
And I'm proud to say, that after having been her son-in-law for nearly 40 years, my dad finally managed to make this soup taste nearly as good as my grandma :-)

What you need (for 1,5l):
200g beef for stews, cut in small cubes.
200g ground beef
1 bag of ready-chopped soup vegetables*
2 nests of vermicelli noodles
4 beef stock cubes.
1,5l water.
Maggi seasoning sauce to taste

Cook the cubed beef in the water for a few hours until tender. Scoop the meat from the pot and set aside. Save the meat stock.
Make small meatballs from the ground beef. Cook them in the meat stock.
When the meatballs are almost cooked, add the vegetables and cook until tender (approx. 20 mins). Crumple the vermicelli noodles over the pan into small bits. Add the stock cubes and stir until they have disolved. Add the cooked beef cubes and cook for a few more minutes.
Serve with bread (for dipping!) and season to taste with Maggi seasoning sauce.

* contents will vary depending on where you live. The type that I use contains finely chopped leek, carrot, broccoli, white cabbage, selery and cauliflower and is sold in bags of 200-300g depending on the brand.

Tip: the soup is even better the next day when it has thickened...

Dhal soup (Indian-style red lentil soup)

What you need (2 servings):
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 can of tomato cubes
60g red lentils, rinsed
1 tsp lemon juice
2dl vegetable stock
1dl coconut milk
oil
salt, pepper

Sauté the onion and garlic. Add the spices and fry for approx. 30 secs. Add the tomatoes, lentils, lemon juice, vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Simmer for approx. 25-30 mins until the lentils are cooked (I like to reduce the liquid so that it becomes more of a dip than an soup).
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with naan.