When using red lentils, dahls are one of the easiest ways to make a delicious, flavoursome dish in under 30 minutes. Parsnips are a great ingredient to use in curries and stews because of their wholesome, hearty texture with a natural sweetness and earthy edge. In this recipe, we roast parsnips until they're soft and tender then blend half of them to create the base of this spicy dish, we then mix through creamy coconut milk, soft red lentils and some flavoursome spices to bring the whole thing together. Served with a dollop of yoghurt mixed through, this dish makes the perfect weekday dinner.
Serves 4 & takes 40 minutes to cook
Ingredients
3 large parsnips (about 900g), peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 onion, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of paprika
½ teaspoon of turmeric
250g red lentils
1x 400g can of coconut milk
300ml almond milk
Juice of 1 lime
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
Large handful of spinach
Plain yoghurt (or coconut yoghurt for a vegan version)
Olive oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of chilli flakes
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C, fan setting.
2. Place the parsnips onto a roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil, a pinch of chilli powder and a pinch of salt. Mix really well until all of the parsnip chunks are coated in olive oil and roast for 35 minutes, or until the parsnips feel soft.
3. While the parsnip chunks cook, place a large pan over a medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Once warm, add the diced onion, garlic and a pinch of salt. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes until the onions start to feel soft.
4. Add the spices and cook for a minute or so before adding the red lentils and coconut milk. Mix well and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
5. Once the parsnip is soft, remove from the oven and leave to cool a little. Place 200g of the cooked parsnip chunks into a powerful blender (we use a NutriBullet), along with the almond milk, lime juice and ginger and blend until smooth and creamy, this may take a few minutes.
6. When the red lentils feel soft and the liquid in the pan has reduced, stir through the blended parsnip mixture, parsnip chunks and spinach, adding a dash more almond milk if needed until you reach the consistency you like best for the dahl.
7. Allow the spinach to wilt before mixing through a big spoonful of yoghurt.
8. Serve the dahl piping hot with a pinch of chilli flakes and some fresh coriander sprinkled over the top.
