Meatless Monday with Indian Dal

Hello and welcome (back) to the Miratel blog for another Meatless Monday. We took the Meatless Monday pledge as part of our CSR business initiatives in support of reducing meat consumption one day per week (15%) to improve the health of people and the planet.

If your New Year’s resolution includes living a healthier life, then today’s recipe is perfect. On the menu is a quick Indian dal – a thick, hearty and healthy lentil stew that is low in fat and high on flavours. So in the spirit of living well and getting the New Year started off right we’re going to make this delicious Indian Dal courtesy of Whole Foods Market.

Ingredients

• 2 cups red lentils
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes, with their juice
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• Salt to taste
• 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
  

  Indian dal image courtesy of Whole Foods Market

Method

1. Spread lentils out on a sheet tray and pick through to remove any stones or debris. Rinse lentils and drain well.
2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, cardamom, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
3. Add lentils, broth, tomatoes, cilantro, turmeric, salt and jalapeno and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer, stirring often, until lentils are soft, about 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve.
4. Serve over brown rice or eat with whole wheat naan bread and a side salad.

This dal recipe will serve six. The jalapeno pepper adds heat to the stew and can be omitted if you enjoy a milder flavor.  According to the recipe “if [you are] using green or black beluga lentils instead of red, the cooking time should be increased by 10 to 15 minutes.”

This is a fast and easy weeknight meal that is also nutritious as each serving has approximately “300 calories (60 from fat), 6g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 710mg sodium, 43g total carbohydrate (10g dietary fiber, 4g sugar), 18g protein.”

We encourage you to visit the Meatless Monday website and join us in taking the pledge to reduce meat consumption one day per week. It’s easy with delicious recipes like this one. Spread the word at work to promote the value of CSR business initiatives and make your green call centre, office, factory, shop, restaurant, hotel or salon even greener.
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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.