Dal and Tabbouleh Salad

Dal is a traditional Indian food. An exotic blend of spice and colour. I was first introduced to this meal while living in Malaysia. Though the dal I could buy there was much to spicy for a nursing mother. My Indian stewardess set out to ‘tone done’ the heat, but still capture the flavours of the spices. She came up with this recipe, a variation of her families heritage recipe. It is easy and packed with health.

1 diced Onion
1-3 cloves Garlic, crushed
4 tbsp. Coconut oil (or any other cooking oil)
Salt and pepper
2 tsp. Turmeric
½ tsp. Mustard seeds
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Fresh grated ginger or ½ tsp. Dried
1 tsp. Coriander
½-1 tsp. Curry powder
2 cups Red lentils
4 cups water
1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes

Gently cook the onion, garlic, salt and pepper with the oil. Then add the red lentils and spice, sauté for a few minutes then add the water and bring to a gentle boil. Boil until the lentils have become soft. Then add the tomatoes. Taste. Add more spice/salt if wanted.

Tabbouleh Salad

½ cup bulgur wheat
4 tomatoes finely chopped
1 cucumber finely chopped
2-3 cups parsley finely chopped
7 spring onions, whites finely chopped
½ tsp. mixed spice (like spike)
1 tsp. Cumin
2 tbsp. Lemon juice (fresh is best)
4 tbsp. Olive oil

1) Boil 1 cup of water. Place the bulgur wheat in a bowl with a lid add 1 tsp. Salt. When the water has boiled pour over the bulgur wheat. Cover with the lid and let stand until the bulgur has softened. About 30 minutes. When the bulgur is soft drain out the extra water. I pour the bulgur onto a towel and pat dry. I return the bulgur to the bowl and place it in the fridge until ready to serve.
2) Chop the vegetables and place in a serving bowl.
3) Mix the oil, lemon juice and spices.
4) When ready to serve toss all the ingredients together. Garnish with fresh mint leaves or sliced avocado.

I call this my fat burning salad. The combination of parsley, cucumber, lemon and garlic along with the nutrients in the bulgur all add up to be a awsome fat burner. This salad is filling and full of nutrients. We can not get good green leafy vegetables in Nigeria but parsley has come to my rescue. I feed this salad all the time and know my family is getting a nutrient packed salad.

This meal is meant to be served with Naan bread. I substitute the Naan for pita bread as pita is more available in Nigeria then naan. And tonight I will use the left over foccocia bread. Just to merge a few polar opposite cultures together. Indian stew, Italian bread, Middle Eastern salad, a Canadian eater in West Africa.
But hey it tastes great!

Bon appetite

Rosaleen