Postpartum Recipe | Coconut Dahl with Spinach
N O U R I S H • Dahl, a personal favourite dish that makes sure us mamas get enough nutrients in our postpartum meals. Save this recipe and meal prep your postpartum meals in advance or drop this off to a new mother and nourish her during her postpartum period.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 g) Red Lentils or Masoor Dahl
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 1 bag/box pre-washed baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ inch piece ginger, grated
- A few dashes of hing/ asafoetida
- 2-3 cloves
- ¼ teaspoon fennel
- 3-4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed using a motar and pestle
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- A small bunch of freshly chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
1. Wash the dahl a few times till the water runs clear. Add the dahl to a pot along with 4 cups of water, turmeric, and salt. Let it cook over medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes. Ensure there is enough water in the pot, you can add more water if needed.
2. While the dahl is cooking prepare the tadka. Heat ghee or coconut oil in a frying pan. When it is hot add the onion and let it sweat till it is translucent. Add in garlic, ginger, hing, clove, fennel, and cardamom to the pan. Let it sizzle and cook for another minute till everything is fragrant. Take it off the heat.
3. When the dahl is cooked, add the chopped spinach and let it cook for 2 minutes until it wilts.
4. Next stir in a whole can of coconut milk.
5. Add the tadka to the dahl and let it simmer for a minute or two. Take it off the heat, garnish it with freshly chopped cilantro and serve with steamed rice.
For Instant Pot
1. To cook this dahl in the instant pot, I recommend starting with the tadka. Set your Instant Pot in sauté mode and let it heat. Add ghee or coconut oil to the Instant Pot. When hot, add the onion and let it sweat till it is translucent. Add in garlic, ginger (if using), hing, clove, fennel, and cardamom to the pan. Let it sizzle and cook for another minute till everything is fragrant.
2. Add the washed dahl to the tadka along with 4 cups of water, turmeric, and salt. Stir till everything is well combined.
3. Press cancel and close the lid with a vent in the sealing position. Change the instant pot setting to manual or pressure cook mode at high pressure for 5 mins.
4. After the Instant pot beeps and switches to keep warm mode. Let it pressure release for 5 minutes. Then manually release pressure.
5. Carefully open the lid, Switch the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add in the spinach and close the light to wilt the spinach for about a minute.
6. Stir in the coconut milk. Let it come to a simmer then turn off the Instant Pot.
7. Garnish with cilantro and serve with steamed rice.
Source: maplechutney.com
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